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PASTOR    OF    THE 


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PETERSBURG,  VIRGINIA, 


AND 


History  of  the  Church 


BY  REV.   WILLIAM  HENRY  SHERWOOD,  A.  .B., 

Author  of  "  Talent  of  the  Negro  Race"  "Poetic  Gleanings"  "Founder 
of  People's  Voice"  etc. 


PETERSBURG, VA. 

John  B.  Ege,  Steam  Printer  and  Book  Binder,  Sycamore  Street 

1S85. 


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GiGh 


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CPREFAgE,2^ 


WHOEVER  writes  about  human  life,  and  especially  the  life  of 
a  chosen  vessel  of  the  Almighty  Jehovah,  should  feel  the  mag- 
nitude of  his  responsibility.  The  greatness,  the  mystery  of  his 
being,  the  wonderfulness  of  his  personage,  the  overwhelming  matchlessness 
of  his  existence,  in  the  future,  all  rise  like  a  mountain  before  the  writer. 
Therefore,  he  who  writes  of  men  of  God  must  do  it  in  remembrance  of  the 
image  of  the  Divinity,  in  which  their  souls  are  made — a  profound  thoughtful- 
ness,  a  reverent  and  tender  contemplation  of  an  immortal,  responsible,  self- 
acting  being.  To  write  well  of  a  man's  life  has  been  held  as  a  great  art,  be- 
cause it  is  reproducing  whatever  one  believes  has  transpired  under  the  ob- 
servation of  the  writer,  and  is  therefore  taken  for  a  true  narative.  To  write 
what  a  great  mind  imagines,  to  write  really  what  goes  on  in  any  human  soul, 
is  to  do  a  far  greater  thing  than  any  pen  has  yet  accomplished ;  yet,  some  in- 
cidents pf  the  life  of  a  truly  great  man  can  be  written  and  presented  for  ex- 
amples for  others  who  follow  in  their  tracks.  If  the  politician  can  find  time 
and  talent  to  devote  to  the  life  and  career  of  statesmen,  and  the  theatre-goers 
genius  to  spend  on  the  vicious  tragedian,  the  Christian  might  afford  to  conse- 
crate a  few  short  lines  to  the  acknowledgment  of  incidents  and  examples  of 
one  of  their  most  devout  leaders. 

Unfortunately  for  us,  too  little  value  is  placed  upon  the  examples  of  our 
ministers  and  the  records  of  our  churches.  Every  other  organization  of  man- 
kind makes  records  and  writes  histories  of  their  leaders  and  those  who  are 
led.  Why  should  not  the  glorious  old  mother  of  Virginia  African  Baptist 
Churches  transmit  to  her  children  her  most  heavenly  record,  subjoined  with 
the  life  of  her  beloved  pastor  ? 

The  events  recorded  in  this  volume  are  such  as  has  transpired  under  the 
observation  of  the  writer  to  a  very  great  extent,  and  are  put  in  print  by  him 
as  examples  worthy  to  be  imitated  by  the  many  youths  upon  whose  shoulders 
the  mighty  responsibility  of  our  religious  and  literary  institution  must  shortly 
rest,  as  well  as  to  offer  to  each  family  of  his  membership  a  volume  combining 
the  life  and  sentiments  of  their  pastor  with  the  history  of  their  church.  The 
pride  which  each  member  has  in  both  his  church  and  pastor,  is  a  sufficient 
guarantee  of  the  approbation  with  which  this  tittle  book  will  be  received. 
Yours  for  Heaven, 

WILLIAM     HENRY     SHERWOOD. 


m, 


-CONTENTS.*- 


Gordon's  Ancestry,  Birth  and  Early  Training, 

Rural  Life  of  Gordon, 

Gordon  in  High  School — a  Student — His  Speech  in  Elizabeth  City, 

Gordon  a  Teacher — A  Change  of  Spirit — His  Professional  Choice 
Counteracted — A  Sunday  SchoofMissionary,  Revivalist,  &c, 

Gordon  at  Richmond  Institute  —  a  Lecturer,  a  Poet  and  a  Tourist, 

Gordon's  Tour  in  North  Carolina,* 

Remarks  and  Comments, 

Gordon  Received  a  Double  Call — He  meditates  and  finally  ac- 
cepts the  Charge  of  the  First  Baptist  Church,  Petersburg,  Va. 
His  First  Sermon — Outlines — The  responsibilities  incumbent 
on  the  Pastor  of  this  Church — His  Manner  of  Preaching,  &c. 

His  abilities  as  a  Moderator, 

Gordon's  Building  Qualities, 

History  of  the  Church  from  1774  to  1885 

The  Progress  of  the  Church  under  the  charge  of  Gordon,  .... 

The  Remodeling  of  the  Church, 

The  Congregation  and    Sunday    School, „.".... 

The  Choir, " 

Old  Street  Mission  School, 

Blandford  Mission  School, 

Foreign  Mission  Society, , 

List  of  Churches  and  amounts   raised   by  them, 

Elder  Gordon's  list  of  Donators,  as  taken  from  his  scrap  book,  .    . 

Church  Constitution, :,  .  ' .    .    .    . 

Articles  of  Faith, 

Church  Covenant, '.  . 

Church  Officers v  , 

Poem,  dedicated  to  the  Church,  by  Rev.  W.  H.  Sherwood,  .    .    . 

Poem,  dedicated  to  Deacon  Spencer  Green,  by  Rev.  W.  H. 
Sherwood, 

Conclusion, 


Chapter 


II 
ill 


IV 
VII 


VIII 

IX 

X 

XI 

XII 

XIII 

XIV 

XV 

XVI 

XVII 

XVIII 

XIX 

XX 

XXI 

XXII 

XXIII 

XXIV 

XXV 


CHARLES  B.  W.  GORDON. 


Claries  Benjamin  William  Gordon, 


|HE  SON  of  Nancy  and  Daniel  Gordon, 
i  and  the  present  Pastor  of  the  First  Bap- 
/  tist  Church  of  Petersburg,  Virginia,  was 
f^if  born  November  ist,  1861,  at  Coalraine, 
Bertie  county,  North  Carolina.  He  is  a  descend- 
ant of  the  Holly  family  and  heir  to  ancestral 
greatness,  with  no  compeer  except  General  Nat. 
Turner.  His  great  grand  father,  Charles  Holly,  was 
a  slave,  and  was  with  his  Master,  as  body-servant, 
during  the  great  Revolutionary  struggle. 

Before  the  close  of  the  war  he  had  gained  con- 
siderable reputation  as  a  bold  and  fearless  servant, 
who  in  many  instances  saved  the  life  of  his  master, 
as  well  as  the  life  of  himself,  and  for  the  gallant  ser- 
vices rendered  his  master  during  the  war  he  was 
afterwards  set  free.  He  many  times  previously 
swore  that  he  would  not  be  a  slave,  and  fought  Eng- 
land as  hard  for  the  freedom  of  America  as  if  he 
knew  that  he  was  to  enjoy  it  as  a  free  and  honor- 
able citizen.  As  a  slave  he  was  never  treated,  nor 
would  he  be.  He  was  looked  upon  more  as  an 
overseer  than  a  slave.  He  frequently  dictated  to 
his  master  the  course  best  to  pursue,  which  was  al- 
ways received  with  much  respect  for  the  person  from 
which  it  came.     Physically,    Charles  Brown    Holly 


LIFE    OF    GORDON. 


was  the  Sampson  of  his  age.  It  was  related  of  him 
that  he  could  take  two  men  and  crush  their  faces 
together.  He  never  was  whipped  but  by  his  mother, 
who  always  ruled  him,  even  down  to  old  age.  For 
his  great  strength  and  hardihood,  his  name  was 
changed  from  Charles  Brown  to  Tom  Bull.  He 
was  known  throughout  the  eastern  portion  of.  North 
Carolina  as  a  great  and  wonderful  man.  Tom  Bull 
had  only  one  child,  Pricilla  Holly,  who  married  Willy 
Holly.  She  was  simply  an  emblem  of  feminine  vir- 
tue, that  no  worthy  comparison  can  exaggerate.  She 
was  a  very  beautiful  woman,  and  there  was  not  a 
lazy  bone  in  her  frame ;  she  knew  how  to  please  the 
most  difficult.  All  that  knew  her  wanted  her.  She 
had  a  strong,  sturdy  and  unyielding  moral  rectitude, 
that  nothing  could  induce  her  to  part  with.  She 
was  sold  by  her  master,  who  inherited  her.  Pricilla, 
as  we  have  already  stated,  was  fair  to  look  upon. 
Eldridge,  her  master,  intruded  on  her  and  used 
every  possible  means  to  seduce  her,  but  she  resisted 
him  to  the  last,  and  swore  that  she  would  die  before 
she  would  yield  to  him ;  for  that  she  was  sold  and 
forced  to  leave  Nancy,  the  mother  of  the  subject 
of  our  sketch,  who  was  then  a  suckling  baby  and  the 
idol  of  her  heart,  yet  this  embarrassing  and  heart- 
rending situation  did  not  alter  the  firm  and  un- 
shaken heart  of  the  fair  Ethiopian  woman.  Willy 
Holly,  the  husband  of  Pricilla,  was  a  mechanic  by 
trade,  and  won  a  wide  reputation  in  the  mechan- 
ical circle.  He  was  a  man  of  great  mental  ability. 
With  the  cunningness  of  his  mind  and  his  economi- 


LIFE     OF    GORDON. 


cal  management,  he  saved  up  money  enough  to  buy 
his  time.  Thus  his  far-seeing  wisdom  and  active  in- 
dustry have  set  him  free. 

Nancy,  the  mother  of  little  Charley,  married  Dan- 
iel Gordon,  the  father  of  Charley.  At  the  hour  when 
the  nation  was  approximating  the  greatest  of  all 
events,  in  the  annals  of  her  national  history,  when 
the  star  of  freedom  begun  to  rise,  Charles  B.  W. 
Gordon  is  thrown  into  the  world  amidst  the  crisis  of 
the  Negro  race — a  son  of  thunder,  a  man  of  war,  a 
child  of  heroic  blood,  as  if  born  to  rule  the  storm. 
In  a  short  time  thereafter  his  father,  Daniel  Gor- 
don, who  had  been  in  ante  bellum  days  a  preacher, 
joins  the  Yankees.  * 

Before  it  was  universally  known  that  the  Negroes 
would  be  free,  the  brave  and  heroic  Nancy  took  lit- 
tle Charley  in  her  arms,  and  went  to  Plymouth, 
where  the  Yankees  were,  who  of  course  gave  her 
protection.  When  the  Mighty  God  spoke  through 
the  mouth  of  the  cannon  and  dispelled  the  dark 
mist  which  enshrouded  the  South,  bursting,  at  the 
same  stroke,  the  shackles  of  four  millions  of  human 
beings,  and  melting  every  slave  pen  within  the  shad- 
ow of  the  Capitol,  Charles  B.  W.  Gordon  was  only 
three  years  of  age.  Probably  not  a  person  who  reads 
this  has  forgotten  that,  unfortunately  for  us,  the  color- 
ed race  were  all  required  by  the  Freedman's  Bureau 
to  re-marry  or  quit  their  former  wives  for  life.  Dan- 
iel Gordon  did  not  re-marry  Nancy.     Thus  the  noble 

*  With  intent  to  come  back  for  his  wife,  but  before  he  could  return  she 
(Nancy)  had  gone  to  the  Yankees. 


LIFE     OF    GORDON.  Q 


woman  is  left  a  widow,  and  her  children,  the  offsprings 
of  her  and  Daniel  Gordon,  are  fatherless.  Hence  the 
act  that  made  the  fortunes  of  thousands  of  African 
boys,  legitimate  heirs  of  the  fathers,  and  deeply  laid 
for  all  time  to  come  the  foundation  of  their  fortunes 
and  education,  threatened  the  prospects  of  this  prom- 
ising youth  and  offered  poverty  and  penury  in  its 
stead.  But  born  of  a  pious  mother,  which  is  always 
the  best  sign,  (but  probably  not  the  only  good  one), 
he  is  destined  to  lead  his  thousands  to  the  portals 
of  heaven.  Moses,  the  meek  but  most  heroic  of  all 
the  Israelites,  came  into  the  world  atjustsucha 
crisis  as  Charles  Gordon.  Thrown  into  the  dashing 
waves  of  the  Nile,  tossed  among  the  bullrushes  of 
her  mad  current,  he  who  is  to  face  the  proud  mon- 
ach  of  hell  and  protest  against  his  tyranical  scep- 
tre, and  sound  aloud  the  trumpet  of  Jehovah  in  the 
land  of  bondage,  later  to  lead  them  forth  in  solid 
phalanx,  a  once  enslaved  and  downtrodden,  but  now 
free  and  jubilant  people,  is  protected  by  an  angel  of 
heaven  until  found  by  Pharoah's  daughter,  and 
rescued  from  the  raging  seas,  and  placed  at  the  feet 
of  the  Egyptian  sage,  where  he  is  instructed  in  all 
the  arts  of  the  age. 

Nancy,  the  unfortunate  widow,  is  left  like  a  noble 
hen  to  scratch  for  her  brood.  She  was  a  seamstress 
of  the  highest  domestic  accomplishments.  Taught 
by  necessity  and  prompted  by  an  undying  ardor, 
she  summoned  all  her  discouraged  efforts  to  ener- 
getic millinery  workmanship,  which  art  was  then  at 
a   very   low   ebb   among   African  women.     Nancy 


TO  LIFE     OF    GORDON. 


worked  hard  and  faithfully  at  her  needle  to  raise 
her  children  in  credit.  She  sang  sweet  songs  of  her 
brightest  visions,  and  breathed  many  earnest  pray- 
ers for  the  greatness  of  her  children.  She  was,  of 
all  her  sex,  the  most  admirable.  She  was  possessed 
of  but  a  very  limited  education,  as  were  most  mo- 
thers of  the  African  race,  yet  she  constantly  read 
the  Bible  to  her  children  and  strictly  performed  its 
precepts  in  her  family,  which  is  always  sure  to  result 
in  great  and  powerful  men  and  women  for  God  and 
their  country.  Despite  the  shock  of  widowhood,  to 
which  she  was  suddenly  reduced  by  the  Freedman's 
Bureau,  she  gained  with  her  needle,  in  a  short  time, 
the  means  requisite  to  educate  her  children. 

It  will  probably  not  be  out  of  place  to  mention 
just  here  that  the  old  proverb  is  not  altogether  with- 
out significance,  that  "What  is  bred  in  the  bone  will 
not  come  out  of  the  flesh ; "  for,  as  did  her  mother, 
Pricilla,  she  stands  to-day  a  living  monument  of  un- 
tarnished virtue  and  true  womanhood.  Although 
abandoned  by  her  husband  and  left  at  liberty  to  love 
and  marry  another,  she  has  ever  since  remained  sole 
mistress  of  her  person,  and  strictly  devoted  her 
time  and  talent  to  the  religious,  moral  and  intellect- 
ual training  of  her  family,  which  had  sprung  up 
during  coverture  in  ante  bellum  days. 

Nancy  Gordon  remained  at  Plymouth,  Notrh  Car- 
olina, until  Lincoln's  Proclamation  of  Emancipation 
went  into  effect,  when  she  moved  to  Roanoke  Is- 
land, where  Charles  entered  school,  being  about  five 
years  of  age,  to  Mr.  Thomas  Nixon.  He  was  among 


LIFE     OF     GORDON.  I  I 


the  first  students  that  were  enrolled,  and  he  displayed, 
within  a  few  weeks,  such  powerful  talent,  and  made 
such  rapid  advances  in  his  studies,  that  he  was  the 
acknowledged  genius  of  the  public  school  on  Roa- 
noke Island.  When  Charles  had  been  in  school  one 
session,  his  fame  as  a  speller  had  gone  over  the 
Island.  He  stood  at  the  head  of  his  class,  and  did 
not  allow  a  word  to  pass  him.  On  the  clays  when  the 
school  would  have  spelling  matches,  Charles  was  sure 
to  wear  the  laurels.  On  some  Fridays  the  scholars 
made  speeches.  In  his  first  speech,  delivered  in 
one  of  these  Friday  evening  exercises,  Charles  grew 
exceedingly  eloquent,  creating  quite  an  intense  in- 
terest and  holding  the  school  spell-bound ;  mean- 
time the  teacher  was  gazing  on  the  noble  little  ora- 
tor as  if  a  spell  of  amazement  and  wonder  had  cap- 
tivated the  whole  school.  It  may  justly  be  said  that 
on  this  occasion  Charles  portrayed  the  hidden  treas- 
ures of  wisdom  and  the  germ  of  oratorical  power 
with  which  he  is  endowed. 

Unfortunately  for  Charley,  he  was  forced  to  quit 
school  and  go  home  as  soon  as  he  was  large  enough 
to  be  of  service  there.  His  mother  had  a  large 
family  and  no  one  to  look  to  but  herself  and  God. 
She  therefore  worked  hard,  and  made  all  around 
her  work  who  was  able.  Much  to  the  regret  of  the 
boy,  whose  aspirations  had  swollen  so  high,  he 
leaves  school  and  accepts  the  situation. 

Charles  had  a  sister,  Huldian  Gordon,  who  was 
the  first  colored  public  school  teacher  in  North  Car- 
olina.    In  those  days  it  was  very  difficult  to  teach  a 


12  LIFE     OF    GORDON. 


public  school.  The  vouchers  were  to  be  properly 
filled  out  and  sent  to  Washington,  but  Hulda  was 
the  pioneer,  in  that  she  broke  the  ice,  and  her  hand 
was  the  first  of  all  our  throng  of  colored  teachers  to 
smite  the  rock  of  the  public  school  fund,  from  which 
so  many  streams  are  now  pouring  forth. 

His  mother  now  moves  to  Perquimans  County, 
North  Carolina,  where  Charley  is  compelled  to  work; 
meantime  he  studied  every  day  and  every  night. 
On  rainey  days,  when  he  could  not  work,  he  would 
go  to  school  to  his  sister,  who  was  teaching  in  the 
public  schools  of  that  county.  Thus  Charles  grap- 
pled with  disadvantages  and  difficulties.  He  would 
enter  school  in  the  leisure  months,  after  the  crops 
were  laid  by,  and  study  until  the  crops  called  him 
again  ;  hence  he  made  use  of  every  moment  of  his 
time.  Charles  had  fixed  rules  to  study  by.  At 
night,  when  he  had  finished  the  lessons  that  were  to 
be  recited  the  next  day  in  the  school  room,  he  would 
ramble  amidst  his  little  grabbed-up  library  for  the 
best  speeches,  from  which  he  would  select  the  wisest, 
notwithstanding  they  were  hard  to  commit  to  mem- 
ory. Whenever  the  children  were  called  out, 
Charles  would  step  forth  with  something  new,  fresh 
and  vivid.  In  this  way  Charles  B.  W.  Gordon  laid 
the  corner-stone  of  oratory  which  was  so  soon  to 
distinguish  him  and  make  his  name  so  great  and 
laudable. 


LIFE     OF    GORDON.  1 3 


CHAPTER   II. 

RURAL    LIFE    OF    GORDON. 

When  Charles  was  fourteen  years  of  age,  he 
asked  his  brother-in-law  what  was  the  best  thing 
for  him  to  pursue  that  he  might  give  his  mother 
a  better  support,  as  well  as  school  himself.  His 
brother  suggested  that  they  would  farm  on  shares 
— in  partnership.  This  was  agreed  upon  and 
sanctioned  by  Charles'  mother.  To  carry  out  this 
project  they  purchased  a  yoke  of  oxen — it  was 
the  custom  in  those  days  to  have  the  use  of  an  ox 
two  years  for  breaking.  This  was  simply  fun  for 
the  high-spirited  youth.  Although  he  had  a  hard 
time  with  his  oxen,  he  succeeded  in  conquering  them 
and  subjecting  them  to  the  yoke.  He  was  once, 
during  the  time  he  was  engaged  in  breaking  oxen, 
thrown  from  the  cart  and  barely  escaped  death. 
They,  however,  had  great  success  the  first  year.  By 
hard,  earnest  labor  they  were  able  in  the  fall  to  house 
one  hundred  barrels  of  corn,  and  ship  three  bales 
of  cotton,  and  put  up  fifteen  hundred  pounds  of 
pork,  beside  raising  a  large  amount  of  small  grain, 
such  as  beans,  peas,  potatoes,  &c.  Thus  they  had 
means  and  facilities  for  widening  out  their  prospects 
for  a  better  farm. 

Meanwhile,  Charles'  mind  was  maturing  steadily 
and  his  muscular  strength  fast  developing  its  re- 
sources. Not  unlike  most  boys  of  the  rural  circle, 
Charles  had  grown  very  wicked — had  a  great  love 
for  dancing  parties.   The  prosperity  of  the  first  year, 


14  LIFE     OF    GORDON. 


therefore,  opened  up  a  convenience  for  the  further- 
ance of  this  amusement.  They  bought,  in  the  fall, 
a  fine  horse,  and  commenced  to  farm  on  a  broader 
basis ;  rented  a  two-horse  farm.  With  two  oxen 
and  one  horse  they  set  out  for  another  crop,  having 
firmly  resolved  to  gain  an  independent  fortune  and 
a  good  education.  Charles  would  sometimes  ride 
ten  or  twelve  miles  to  attend  a  dancing  spree.  In  the 
gay  circle  of  his  companions,  he  was  always  the 
master  player.  Whenever  a  candy  party  was  to  be 
had,  the  ladies  not  unfrequently  wished  to  know  if 
Charley  Gordon  would  be  there.  If  told  that  he 
would  not,  they  would  say,  "well,  there  won't  be  any 
fun,  then." 

At  a  time  like  that,  we  may  readily  see  the  many 
attractions  with  which  Charles  was  surrounded. 
The  colored  people  had  but  a  short  time  been  free, 
and  piety  was  no  virtue  among  them.  With  them, 
to  be  great  was  to  be  gay ;  and  Charles  always  en- 
deavored to  adapt  himself  to  the  times  and  circum- 
stances, as  well  as  the  society  with  which  he  is  sur- 
rounded. But  while  he  was  wild  and  sinful,  yet 
some  traits  of  his  character,  amidst  all  of  that  folly, 
partook  of  a  strange  bearing  to  that  of  most  boys. 
He  had  an  unbounded  affection  for  Sunday  school, 
and  was  strict  to  attend  it.  He  held  the  position  of 
teacher  and  was  generally  regarded  as  a  very  im- 
portant factor.  In  fact,  all  through  his  boyhood  he 
was  a  leader.  When  at  school  he  would  organize 
armies  of  the  school  boys  and  drill  them  for  war, 
with  as  much  influence  over  them  as  ever  Washing- 


TIFE     OF    GORDON.  1 5 


ton  had  over  the  American  troops.  This  intrinsic 
talent  to  lead  and  conduct  public  affairs,  grew  with 
his  growth  and  strengthened  with  his  strength,  de- 
veloping itself  at  every  stage  of  his  boyhood  and 
manifesting  itself  in  all  his  conduct,  with  but  a  single 
exception.  Like  a  "chip  of  the  old  block,"  he  would 
fight  before  he  would  be  imposed  upon,  at  any  time 
or  in  any  place.  This,  however,  is  regarded  by  those 
who  know  Charles  Gordon,  to  be  one  of  those  in- 
herent dispositions  that  came  down  through  the 
trace  of  a  hundred  years  of  ancestry,  and  is  still  a 
living  impulse  of  Charles — to  respect  every  person's 
rights,  and  to  demand  respect  from  them  in  return. 
In  the  fall  of  the  second  year,  they  housed  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  barrels  of  corn  and  twelve  bales  of 
cotton,  besides  greatly  increasing  their  supplies  of 
meat,  peas,  potatoes,  beans,  &c. 

The  same  fall  a  brother  of.  Charles',  who  had 
been  living  in  the  North,  seeking  rest  and  finding 
none,  came  home.  Charles,  however,  concluded  to 
take  him  as  a  partner ;  so  they  divided  the  spoils, 
the  former  partner  being  only  a  brother-in-law. 
Charles  and  his  new  partners'  labors  were  attended 
also  with  great  success.  During  these  years  of  ru- 
ral life,  Charles  was  studying  his  books  as  attentively 
as  ever.  He  would,  after  working  hard  in  the  day, 
walk  three  miles  at  night  to  attend  night-school. 
This  he  kept  up  regularly  until  the  leisure  season, 
then  he  would  go  to  school  in  the  day,  thus  making 
every  edge  cut  that  would  cut,  and  such  as  would 
not  cut  he  made  them  bruise.     The  young  men  of 


1 6  LIFE     OF    GORDON. 


the  neighborhood  had  a  Debating  Society,  of  which 
Charles  was  a  member.  Charles  was  such  a  power 
in  argument  that  the  young  men  of  the  lodge  finally 
became  so  apprehensive  of  him  that  it  was  hard  to 
find  one  willing  to  take  the  lead,  if  Charles  Gordon 
was  on  the  opposite  side.  He  was  nominated  for 
the  most  prominent  places  within  the  gift  of  his  com- 
panions, and  was  always  elected  without  opposition. 
This,  however,  was  for  his  keen  and  penetrable  un- 
derstanding and  his  parliamentary  management,  as 
well  as  to  avoid  the  vollies  of  oratorical  thunder- 
bolts that  he  commonly  dealt  upon  the  heads  of  his 
opponents. 


CHAPTER  III. 

GORDON    IN    HIGH    SCHOOL HIS    SPEECH    IN 

ELIZABETH    CITY. 

He  was  secretary  of  Hurtford  Sunday  school, 
and  was  chosen  a  delegate  to  represent  it  in  the 
Sunday  school  union,  or  Eastern  Sunday  School 
Convention,  in  1877,  which  convened  at  Bethel. 
In  this  convention  of  over  two  hundred  delegates, 
Charles  Gordon  was  the  centre  of  attraction.  There 
were  prizes  offered  for  the  three  best  speeches  to  be 
delivered  during  the  sitting  of  the  Union.  There 
were  many  contestants,  two  of  which  were  Gordons. 
Till  now,  it  is  not  decided  which  was  the  better  ora- 
tor, Charles  B.  W.  Gordon  or  his  cousin,  B.  S.  Gor- 
don, but  this  day   decided  the    question.     Charles 


LIFE     OF    GORDON.  I  7 


won  the  first  prize  and  B.  S.  Gordon  won  the  second. 
That  Charles  Gordon  was  the  coming  orator  of 
Eastern  North  Carolina,  was  a  foregone  conclusion. 
While  he  spoke,  sudden  stillness  prevailed  until, 
when  Charles  would  draw  such  fine  pictures  of  the 
logical  situation  of  the  Negro,  painting  every  para- 
graph with  the  richest  and  yet  the  most  simple  and 
suitable  language  that  a  Webster  could  use,  the  au- 
dience would  burst  forth  with  loud  applause,  which 
told  that  he  was  playing  upon  the  cord  that  reached 
their  heart  as  well  as  exciting  their  wonder  and  ad- 
miration. When  the  convention  adjourned  for  din- 
ner, the  speech  of  Mr.  Gordon  was  the  topic  of  con- 
versation, and  wherever  on  the  ground  he  might  be 
standing  with  his  associates,  they  would  point  him 
out. 

During  these  years  Charles'  brother  married,  and 
Charles  became  very  tired  of  farming,  although  he 
had  been  blessed  with  repeated  success  ;  but  he  had 
set  his  aspiration  too  high  to  be  clogged  and  tied  down 
upon  a  farm.  His  mother  had  always  told  him  that 
God  would  open  up  a  way  for  him.  He  now  said  to 
his  mother,  "I  want  to  study  and  prepare  myself  for 
the  bar;"  "I  want  to  be  a  lawyer."  His  mother  re- 
plied :  "I  had  rather,  my  son,  to  have  you  be  a 
Christian."  This  expression  sank  deep  down  into 
his  heart,  and  haunted  his  mind  wherever  it  wan- 
dered. But  having  purchased  her  a  comfortable 
home  and  settling  her,  he  again  avows  his  desire  to 
go  off  to  high  school,  as  he  had  advanced  so  far  that 
the    common    school    could  do  him  no  good.     His 


1 8  IIFE     OF     GORDON, 


mother  considered  long  and  well,  then  she  said : 
"Charles,  you  are  now  going  into  your  eighteenth 
year.  You  have  been  dutiful  to  your  mother ;  you 
have  had  a  poor  chance  for  an  education.  I  now 
give  you  freedom,  and  you  can  make  yourself  a  man." 
Charles  immediately  wrote  to  Mr.  Rooks  Turner,  the 
principal  of  Elizabeth  City  Normal  School,  and  ap- 
plied for  admission.  He  entered  that  school  in  1878, 
after  having  stood  a  most  rigid  examination  entered 
the  middle  course  and  walked  square  into  the  school 
Lyceum.  He  distinguished  himself  in  the  first  ar- 
gument he  made,  and  in  every  recitation  he  proved 
his  genius.  His  fame  soon  spread  over  the  city  as 
the  orator  of  the  school.  He  made  rapid  advances 
in  his  studies,  and  read  law  at  intervals  or  at  such 
time  as  he  could  get  from  his  text  books.  Charles 
was  what  one  might  call  a  hard  student,  and  what- 
ever he  learned  he  learned  it  once  forever.  One 
of  his  mottos  was,  "Hold  every  foot  of  ground  you 
get;"  this  he  always  did,  as  will  be  seen  from  his 
history. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

GORDON    A   TEACHER A    CHANGE   OF   SPIRIT HIS  PRO- 
FESSIONAL   CHOICE    COUNTERACTED A    SUNDAY 

SCHOOL   MISSIONARY,  REVIVALIST,  &C. 

While  he  was  in  school,  the  A.  M.  E.  Church  of 
Elizabeth  City  gave  an  entertainment.  There  was 
a  very  valuable  prize  given  the  lady  who,  by  her 


LIFE     OF    GORDON.  1 9 


energy  and  perseverence,  raised  the  most  money, 
and  a  speech  was  to  be  delivered  in  honor  of  that 
lady,  as  well  as  in  the  furtherance  of  that  cause. 
The  lady  who  won  the  prize,  to-wit,  Miss  Clora  Bar- 
nett,  and  the  managers  of  the  entertainment,  se- 
lected Mr.  C.  B.  W.  Gordon  as  orator  of  the  day 
to  deliver  that  speech  and  present  the  prize.  When 
it  was  known  in  the  city  that  C.  B.  W.  Gordon 
would  speak,  it  was  easy  to  foresee  what  a  crowd  of 
both  white  and  colored  people  would  be  there.  At 
an  extraordinarily  early  hour  the  house  was  densely 
packed  with  both  white  and  colored,  (notwithstand- 
ing an  admission  fee  was  charged  at  the  door). 
When  the  moment  was  up,  Mr.  H.  Cale,  who  was 
then  the  representative  in  the  Legislature  of  North 
Carolina  from  Pasquotank  County,  arose  and  intro- 
duced Mr.  Gordon  in  the  following  happy  style : 

"Ladies  and  Gentlemen :  I  rise  to  introduce  to 
you  one  of  North  Carolina's  most  promising  sons ; 
one  who,  if  he  continues  as  he  has  started,  is  des- 
tined to  carve  his  name  upon  the  very  top  round  of 
his  country's  honor,  ere  many  months  go  by — (ap- 
plause)— one  upon  whose  gallant  brow  is  wreathed 
the  very  token  of  fame  and  approaching  greatness. 
(Applause.)  The  rural  lad,  the  city  genius,  the  rus- 
tic farmer,  yet  the  polished  suburban  flower;  in  short, 
I  rise  to  introduce  to  you  the  coming  orator  of  East- 
ern North  Carolina.  (Applause.)  I  need  not  say 
that  I  refer  to  the  right  worthy  Charles  B.  W.  Gor- 
don, who  will  address  you."  (Gordon — applause ; 
Gordon — loud  applause). 


20  LIFE     OF    GORDON. 


A  small,  slender  and  rather  delicate  looking  form 
arose  from  the  audience,  and  while  advancing  to  the 
rostrum  he  is  met  by  two  gentlemen,  who  escorted 
him,  while  the  crowd  burst  forth  a  long  and  loud  ap- 
plause. Mr.  Gordon  ascended  the  rostrum,  made  a 
slight  bow,  stood  erect,  lifted  his  brow  while  a  grad- 
ual smile  broke  over  his  youthful  face.  Opening 
his  mouth  he  said  : 

"Ladies  and  Gentlemen :  While  I  feel  highly  flat- 
tered by  my  venerable  friend  who  introduced  me  in 
such  complimentary  terms,  and  in  so  magnanimous 
a  style,  I  am,  nevertheless,  happy  and  proud,  as  well 
as  honored  and  flattered,  with  the  privilege  to  speak 
to  you  on  this  auspicious  and  momentous  occasion. 
I  am  very  much  obliged  to  my  friend  for  the  good 
things  he  has  said  of  me,  while  I  fear  the  manner  in 
which  I  have  been  introduced  to  you  will  cause  you 
to  be  disappointed,  which,  if  you  are  expecting  a  fine 
speech  from  me,  you  certainly  will  be.  Yet,  if  the 
hard,  earnest  labor  which  I  have  undergone  in  grap- 
pling with  difficulties  and  disadvantages,  have  as- 
sured my  friend  Cale  of  my  future  greatness,  it  is 
all  the  more  gratifying  to  me.  It  is  probably  my 
first  duty  to  congratulate  you  upon  the  rapid  pro- 
gress you  have  made  and  the  many  noble  deeds 
you  have  done,  but  I  will  leave  that  to  the  task  of 
another  and  content  myself  with  inciting  you  to 
nobler  researches  and  stiring  you  up  to  more  en- 
ergy, perseverence  and  self-reliance. 

While  we  have  made  progress,  such,  too,  as  has 
had  no  precedent  in  the  history  of  races,  and  while 


LIFE     OF    GORDON.  21 


we  are  happy  over  the  worthy  achievements  our 
hands  have  wrought,  and  the  inexpressible  boon  of 
freedom  which  we  enjoy,  let  us  not  forget  that  there 
is  yet  very  much  to  be  done  before  our  people  will 
be  great  or  our  freedom  be  permanent.  But  we 
are  to  persevere.  It  is  an  old  but  true  proverb  that 
"those  who  persevere  will  succeed."  This  old  pro- 
verb was  born  with  the  wisest  sages  of  antiquity, 
and  came  down  through  the  whole  line  of  posterity, 
touching  at  every  point  of  destiny  and  proving  the 
truth  of  its  assertion  by  the  thousands  of  failures 
who  trust  to  other  theories.  How  many  now  sit 
down  and  hug  the  delusive  phantom  of  luck  and 
fortune  ?  Men  blessed  with  all  the  glorious  gifts  of 
nature,  yet  they  are  sad  failures,  and  why  ?  Because 
they  fail  to  persevere.  We  are,  too,  apt  to  cast  our 
short-coming  at  the  gate  of  fortune,  and  excuse  our- 
self  from  the  contest  by  saying,  we  can't ;  we  have 
not  talent,  and  that  we  were  unfortunate.  You  are 
just  what  you  make  of  yourself.  Every  man  is  the 
architect  of  his  own  fortune.  If  we  have  luck,  we 
must  have  pluck.  That  undeserving  parties  some- 
times succeed,  while  honest,  energetic  effort  fails,  I 
will  not  attempt  to  deny ;  but  this  is  a  rare  occur- 
rence, and  is  often  attended  with  circumstances  as 
incomprehensive  as  the  occurrence  is  rare ;  but  if 
history  be  philosophy  teaching  by  examples,  then 
we  must  rest  our  logic  where  the  verdict  is  cast. 

Was  it  fortune  that  made  Napoleon  the  greatest 
and  most  victorious  man  of  the  eighteenth  century  ? 
So  may  some  think,  but  I  do  not.     Why  the  old, 


2  2  LIFE     OF    GORDON. 


venerable  soldier,  Moreau,  had  the  same  chance. 
In  the  time  when  France  had  no  leader,  and  was  at 
the  mercy  of  all  the  world,  and  forty  thousand  armed 
soldiers  were  at  her  gate,  Moreau  had  the  chance 
but  refused  to  march  against  the  enemy.  It  was 
late  in  the  night  when  the  terror-stricken  conven- 
tion sat.  All  was  in  consternation,  when  one  Bar- 
ras  arose  and  broke  the  awful  stillness  of  that  cham- 
ber. "I  know  who  can  defend  us,"  he  nervously 
said,  "it  is  the  young  Corsican  officer,  Napoleon 
Bonaparte.  He  is  a  man  who  will  not  stand  upon 
ceremony."  They  called  Napoleon  down  and  asked 
him  if  he  was  willing  to  take  the  responsibility  of 
defending  France.  "Yes,"  he  replied.  When  asked 
if  he  knew  the  magnitude  of  the  situation  and  the 
disadvantages  attending  the  defence,  he  said,  "I  do." 
The  next  morning  when  the  sun  arose,  Napoleon 
was  ready  to  defend  the  convention,  although  he 
had  only  five  thousand  men,  while  the  enemy  had 
forty  thousand.  But  watch  the  brave  lad,  only  seven- 
teen years  of  age,  riding  at  the  head  of  that  fearless 
few.  The  awe-stricken  convention  which  appointed 
him,  is  still  in  session.  Napoleon,  with  his  gun  loaded 
to  the  muzzle,  was  ready  for  the  first  fire,  but  he 
would  not  assume  the  responsibility  of  opening  the 
contest.  He  did  not  wait  long.  The  first  volley 
opening  upon  the  little  handful  of  defenders  was 
the  signal  for  the  instantaneous  discharge  of  all  the 
artillery,  which  belched  forth  its  slaughter  and  death 
till  the  whole  pavement  was  covered  with  the  dead 
and  wounded.     The   day  was   won,  and  Napoleon 


LIFE     OF    GORDON.  23 


had  taken  his  first  advance  to  fame.  Was  it  luck  ? 
No ;  for  Moreau  had  the  same  opportunity  and 
failed.  The  fact  is  that  the  young  Corsican  soldier 
had  perseverence  and  pluck.  Oliver  Cromwell  had 
a  birthday  that  he  always  regarded  as  a  lucky  day, 
yet  he  died  on  that  very  day. 

"A  man  is  mortal  till  his  work  is  done,"  may  be  true 
in  some  sense,  but  not  true  in  fatalism."  Was  it 
luck  which  raised  Andrew  Johnson  from  the  tailor's 
bench  in  Raleigh  and  carried  him  to  the  Chief  Mag- 
istracy of  the  Nation  ?  No,  no.  Such  men  as  Johnson, 
Clay  and  Webster,  would  have  risen  in  spite  of  any 
circumstances.  Dr.  Johnson  has  well  said,  "all  com- 
plaints against  fortune  are  unjust."  I  never  knew  a 
man  neglected  who  was  possessed  of  merit.  Well 
matured  and  well  disciplined  talent  is  sure  of  a  mar- 
ket, provided  it  exerts  itself,  but  it  must  not  cower 
at  home  and  expect  to  be  sought  for.  Perseverence 
is  a  sure  road  to  success.  There  is  fortune  for  the 
dullest  of  us  if  we  will  only  bring  it  into  active  ex- 
ercise. A  barking  dog  is  worth  more  than  a  sleep- 
ing lion.  (Applause.)  Many  a  man  has  lost  his 
hold  on  the  world  because  he  lost  his  perseverence. 
It  is  perseverence  that  crowns  men  with  honor  that 
lives  while  they  sleep  the  sleep  of  the  dead.  It 
amasses  wealth  and  brings  success  to  well-directed 
efforts.  (Applause.)  Men  have  only  to  resolve 
and  then  act  out  the  resolution.  Do  not  stand  still 
and  wait  for  something  to  happen,  but  go  to  work 
and  make  something  happen.  Don't  wait  for  some- 
thing  to   turn    up,    but   with  your  own  hands  turn 


24  LIFE     OF    GORDON. 


something  up.  (Applause.)  "At  it,  and  always  at 
it,"  was  the  motto  of  John  Wesley,  the  founder  of 
the  Methodist  Church.  (Applause.)  "Learn  to  labor 
and  to  wait,"  was  worthy  of  the  pen  of  the  learned 
Longfellow,  and  is  worthy  of  adoption  by  the  am- 
bitious youth  who  is  anxious  for  success.  The  har- 
vest does  not  follow  the  next  day  after  the  seed  are 
sown,  but  must  have  time  to  germinate,  and  bring 
forth  after  its  kind.  Patient  perseverence  is  the 
price  which  the  ambitious  youth  must  pay  for  suc- 
cess, and  every  item  is  paid  in  advance.  The  moun- 
tain top  is  reached  by  plodding  up  it  step  by  step. 
(Applause.)  The  mighty  stone  wall  around  China 
was  reared  by  laying-  rock  upon  rock.  The  mam- 
moth structure  of  the  National  Capitol  was  formed 
by  laying  stone  upon  stone.  So  we  must  build  our 
way  in  the  world,  and  rear  for  ourselves  a  monu- 
ment that  will  speak  for  us  when  we  shall  have 
played  our  part  in  the  drama  of  life.  (Applause.) 
Truly  we  have  been  slaves  and  deprived  of  ad- 
vantages, but  we  have  been  free  thirteen  years — 
long  enough  to  outgrow  every  mark  of  servitude 
and  every  sign  of  slavery.  (Applause.)  Shall  that 
be  any  reason  why  any  one  of  us  should  not  be 
great  ?  It  was  none  for  B.  K.  Bruce.  It  didn't  al- 
ter the  will  of  Douglas.  (Applause.)  Are  there 
difficulties  in  the  way  ?  These  were  made  only  to 
be  conquered  and  overcome,  and  in  overcoming  to 
develop  strength.  If  we  would  be  successful  we 
must  be  energetic.  What  made  Demosthenes  the 
great  Grecian  orator,  but  repeated  energetic  strug- 


LIFE     OF     GORDON.  25 


gles  ?     I  pity,  yes,  pity  the  poor  blind-guided  novice 
who  lulls  to  sleep  his    energies    and    dissipates   his 
mind  with  the  fearful  delusion  that  the  stars  in  their 
courses  are  righting  for   him.     Never  was  there  a 
sophistry  more  foolish  than  this,   that  "to  be  born 
lucky  is  better  than  to  be  born  rich."    .  (Applause.) 
Energy  and  perseverence  will  conquer  in  the  long 
run,  despite  the  circumstances.     It  will  always  out- 
strip mere  brilliancy ;  the  list  of  mighty  names  on 
the  annals  of  our  history  proves  this.     Many  who  in 
their  youth  were  remarkable  for  nothing  but  stupid- 
ity have,  in  after  years,  achieved    fame.     Julius  Cae- 
sar, the  conquerer  of  the  world,  when  a  youth,  was 
very  ordinary  in  mind  and   aspiration.     It   took   a 
long  and  weary  season  of  the  severest  experience 
to  arouse  his  dormant  energies  and  develop  his  as- 
tonishing ability  to  command  unconquerable  legions 
and  give  the  age  the  type  of  unbounded  ambition. 
Sheridan,  the  brilliant  and  witted  orator,  in  his  boy- 
hood, was  regarded  as  a  stupid  dunce.     There  is  no 
royal  road  to  success.     To  gain  it,  one  must  make 
up   his    mind   to   work  hard  at  his  purpose.     (Ap- 
plause.) 

Connected  with  these  facts  is  self-reliance,  a  qual- 
ity that  should  not  be  overlooked.  We  colored 
people  of  the  South  are  in  the  habit  of  looking  and 
relying  on  the  North  for  the  purpeturity  of  our  free- 
dom and  our  grandeur,  but  we  make  a  mistake. 
The  North  boasts  of  having  freed  the  Negro,  which 
I  grant,  yet  I  have  always  regarded  it  as  the  out- 
come of  Providential  arrangement.     God  sent  it,  if 


26  LIFE     OF    GORDON. 


the  devil  brought  it ;  and  it  behooves  us  to  make 
the  best  of  it.  (Applause.)  If  God  sent  the  North 
to  free  us,  He  did  not  send  it,  nor  will  not  send  it,  to 
take  care  of  us.  (Applause.)  God  never  meant 
that  you  should  be  maintained  at  the  expense  of 
another.  If  we  ever  educate,  our  own  effort  must 
do  it.  What  if  we  begin  poor  ?  If  you  commence 
life  at  the  bottom  round,  it  is  no  lower  than  the 
greatest  men  of  this  century  started.  Look  to  no 
man  nor  set  of  men,  but  to  God  and  yourself.  (Ap- 
plause.) We  are  now  without  excuse,  and  much  is 
expected  of  us.  Let  us  show  to  the  world  that  the 
Negro  can  and  will  be  an  independent  and  intelli- 
gent people.     (Applause.) 

A  word  to  the  young  people,  and  I  am  done. 
Young  gentlemen,  I  look  over  the  door  of  your 
Legislative  hall,  and  what  do  I  see  ?  I  see  written 
there,  wanted  !  I  look  over  the  door  of  the  United 
States  Congress,  and  see  written  there,  wanted  !  I 
look  over  your  farm-yard  and  see,  wanted  !  Look 
over  your  machine  shop  and  see,  wanted  !  Look 
over  your  merchandise  and  see,  wanted !  Look 
over  your  school  room  and  see,  wanted !  Look  over 
your  publishing  house  and  see,  wanted !  Who 
is  wanted  ?  Men  wanted  !  Educated  men,  indus- 
trious men,  intelligent  men,  refined  men,  skilled 
men ;  that  is  who  is  wanted.  (Loud  applause.) 
Young  ladies,  look  over  the  doors  of  your  literary 
houses  and  you  see,  wanted  !  Look  over  your  man- 
ufactory and  you  see,  wanted  !  At  the  gates  of  your 
printing  and  sculpture  buildings,  wanted  !    At  your 


LIFE    OF    GORDON.  27 


music  hall,  wanted  !  In  your  school  room,  wanted  ! 
Over  your  dwelling  house,  wanted  !  Over  your  dec- 
orated parlors,  wanted  !  Who  is  wanted  ?  Ladies, 
educated  ladies,  industrious  ladies,  accomplished 
ladies,  refined  ladies,  modest  ladies,  energetic  ladies 
and  progressive  ladies  ;  that  is  who  is  wanted.  (Ap- 
plause.) Then  let  us  prepare  ourselves,  for  we  will 
be  called  upon  to  fill  these  important  places.  (Ap- 
plause.)" 

This  is  only  a  portion  of  his  speech,  the  main  man- 
uscript having  been  misplaced.  After  this  speech 
Mr.  Gordon  was  greeted  and  congratulated  on  every 
hand  by  both  white  and  colored. 

At  the  moment  when  the  prize  was  to  be  pre- 
sented, Mr.  Gordon  walked  to  the  decorated  ros- 
trum, lifted  the  valuable  prize  and  called  out  Miss 
Chlora  Barnett.     Bowing,  he  said  : 

"Dear  Miss:  The  high,  the  glorious  opportunity 
has  been  afforded  me  of  presenting  to  you  this  val- 
uable prize,  which  your  energetic  labors  have  so  richly 
merited,  and  which  bespeaks  the  many  achievements 
that  are  within  your  reach.  While  there  were  many 
who  honorably  struggled,  you  have  the  honor  of  ex- 
celling. As  you  excel  in  this  contest,  so  you  will  in 
every  one  if  you  will  continue.  This  prize,  although 
beautiful  and  valuable,  is  only  a  token  of  that  glo- 
rious and  incorruptible  prize  which  awaits  you  at  the 
end  of  the  race  of  life.  It  points^  you  away  to  the 
paradistical  regions  of  an  unbeclouded  heaven.  In 
the  name  of  perseverance  and  the  donor,  I  give  it 
you.     (Another  loud  applause.) 


28  „    LIFE     OF    GORDON. 


Charles  remained  in  school  till  1880,  when  he  be- 
gan to  teach  at  Brick  Kiln,  in  Purquimans  county. 
It  was  a  hard  county  to  get  the  first  grade  certificate 
in,  but  Charles  received  the  first  grade.  In  the  fall 
of  the  same  year  he  was  elected  principal  of  the 
Windsor  public  school.  This  was  a  large  school, 
and  required  a  man  of  considerable  tact,  but  Charles 
Gordon  was  acknowledged  to  be  the  best  teacher 
that  they  ever  had,  before  or  since.  During  Charles' 
second  session  in  school,  an  awful  change  came  over 
him.  He  had  surveyed  the  whole  professional  cir- 
cle, and  made  choice  of  the  legal  profession.  He 
had  calculated  the  number  of  months  he  would  need 
to  stay  in  school,  and  the  expense  attending  it; 
weighed  them  carefully  and  minutely,  placed  them 
before  him,  and  embarked  for  the  shore.  He  had 
not  sailed  long  before  a  mighty  storm  arose  and  the 
winds  dashed  with  almost  boundless  fury  against  his 
foundering  bark.  The  dark  mist  of  his  sins  had 
hidden  his  star  from  his  eyes  forever.  Like  Saul 
of  Tarsus,  he  cries  to  God  and  is  saved.  What  a 
glorious  change !  His  aspirations  changed  with  his 
spirit.  He  is  not  satisfied  with  knowing  that  it  is 
well  with  his  own  soul,  but  he  is  anxious  about  the 
souls  of  others.  He  is  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  as  was  said  of  one  of  old,  he  went  about  doing 
good.  He  was  appointed  Sunday  School  Mission- 
ary for  the  Union,  and  established  many  Sunday 
schools.  He  conducted  a  revival  among  his  schol- 
ars with  great  success,  meantime  he  felt  that  God 
had  enjoined  on  him  to  preach  the  gospel. 


LIFE     OF    GORDON.  2Q 


CHAPTER  V. 

GORDON     AT     RICHMOND     INSTITUTE A     LECTURER,     A 

POET    AND    A   TOURIST. 

To  prepare  himself  for  this  calling,  he  opened 
correspondence  with  Mr.  C.  H.  Corey,  President  of 
Richmond  Institute,  in  September,  1881,  and  closed 
school  at  Windsor,  North  Carolina,  to  enter  that 
school.  It  was  a  sad  time  with  his  patrons  at  Wind- 
sor ;  they  said  they  could  not  do  without  Mr.  Gor- 
don. Many  said  that  if  he  left  the  school  was 
ruined.  Well,  to  write  just  as  it  was,  language  is 
inadequate.  Everything  was  done  to  induce  Mr. 
Gordon  to  remain,  and  to  have  him  teach  on  for 
them,  but  the  Lord  had  spoken  and  Charles  had  re- 
sponded.    He  made  a  fine  mark  in  Windsor. 

During  the  vacation  of  1882,  Mr.  Gordon  trav- 
elled in  the  Eastern  portion  of  North  Carolina,  and 
preached  and  lectured  with  great  success. 

He  wrote  two  poems  in  1882,  one  dedicated  to 
the  memory  of  Rev.  L.  W.  Boone,  and  another  en- 
titled "The  Good  Shepherd."  Both  of  these  poems 
were  read  with  interest  by  thousands,  and  won  for 
Mr.  Gordon  a  considerable  poetical  reputation. 
Besides  these,  he  commonly  corresponded  with  pa- 
pers, contributing  many  rich  essays  on  various  sub- 
jects. 

An  extract  from  the  volume  of  Poems  entitled  "  The  Good  Shepherd." 
HELP  THE  HEATHEN. 

There  is  a  land  of  grief  and  woe, 

A  land  far  across  the  ocean  wave, 
Where  heathen  nations  know  not  God, 

Nor  seek  to  find  the  blessed  way. 


30  LIFE     OF    GORDON. 


This  is  the  way  the  nation  is  gone, 

Since  in  darkness  they  were  born ; 
The  way  of  God  they  have  not  known, 

They  bow  to  idols  of  wood  and  stone. 

They  work  in  darkness  with  great  delight, 

They  seek  the  road  to  keen  despair ; 
Thousands  are  travelling  without  the  light, 

Thousands  have  made  their  journey  there. 

It  was  for  them  that  Jesus  died, 

But  His  name  they  have  not  known ; 
The  Shepherd  here  has  given  the  'larm, 

But  unto  them  he  has  not  gone. 

The  voice  of  God  is  calling  now, 

For  soldiers  strong  and  bold ; 
To  carry  the  gospel  to  them  there, 

That  Jesus'  name  there  may  be  told. 

Oh,  that  we  could  hear  some  one  say, 
"Lord  here  am  I,  send  me ! 
I'll  take  the  gospel  and  carry  it  there, 
That  they  may  know  salvation's  free." 

If  you  cannot  go,  you  can  give  your  means, 

To  help  to  send  the  gospel  there  ; 
That  thef  heathen  may  know  the  name  of  God, 

And  for  judgment  day  make  some  prepare. 

If  you  cannot  give  the  rich  man's  sum, 

You  can  give  a  penny  or  a  shilling ; 
If  you  cannot  pay  the  preacher's  full  fare, 

You  can  show  to  the  Lord  that  you're  willing. 

He  returned  to  Richmond  Institute  and  resumed 
his  studies  October,  1882.  He  was  employed  as 
general  agent  for  a  large  publication  house,  and 
made  an  extensive  tour  through  the  Eastern  portion 
of  his  native  State.  In  another  chapter  is  given  a 
few  of  the  dates  and  incidents  of  this  tour.  • 


LIFE     OF    GORDON.     .  3 1 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Gordon's  tour  in  north  Carolina. 

He  left  Richmond  on  the  20th  of  May,  1883,  on 
his  way  for  North  Carolina  ;  reached  Norfolk  on  the 
same  day,  and  on  the  night  of  the  26th  he  preached 
in  Bute  Street  Baptist  Church.  From  thence  he 
went  to  Hertford,  North  Carolina,  on  the  28th  of 
May.  He  remained  two  days,  during  which  time 
he  preached.  Found  the  people  of  Hertford  mak- 
ing very  poor  progress.  On  the  30th,  he  arrived  at 
Elizabeth  City.  He  found  the  people  still  on  the 
way  up  the  hill,  every  sphere  of  life  showing  ad- 
vancement; found  Rev.  M.  Fisher  in  charge  of  the 
A.  M.  E.  Church,  and  Rev.  E.  Griffin  in  charge  of 
the  Baptist.  Stopped  with  brother  Frank  Simmons, 
first  deacon  of  the  Baptist  Church ;  found  his  wife 
a  great  worker  in  the  missionary  cause — yes,  I  may 
say  she  is  worthy  to  be  classed  among  the  best 
workers.  She  is  leading  a  missionary  meeting  in 
the  church  that  he  helped  to  establish  and  assisted 
in  organizing.  He  is  just  now  in  receipt  of  a  letter 
from  her,  stating  that  she  has  a  great  many  mem- 
bers. On  Friday,  the  1st  of  June,  he  was  requested 
to  deliver  an  address  to  the  young  men  of  Prof.  R. 
Turner's  Normal  School.  When  he  entered  the 
school  room  he  was  greeted  by  a  long,  unbroken 
cheer  from  many  old  acquaintances  and  school- 
mates, who  had  assembled  to  give  him  a  warm 
greeting.  As  Charles  was  formerly  a  student  of 
this  school,  the  reader  can  imagine  with  what  grat- 
itude and  enthusiasm  he  was  received. 


32  LIFE     OF    GORDON. 


Mr.  Turner,  after  making  a  few  remarks  of  con- 
gratulation, and  expressing  his  gladness  to  meet 
Mr.  Gordon,  his  former  student,  and  seeing  him  in 
so  promising  a  career,  introduced  him  to  the  school. 
The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  speech : 

"Mr.  President  and  Fellozv  Students  :  I  feel  es- 
pecially honored  in  being  called  on  to  address  you, 
although  I  have  prepared  nothing  new  or  interesting 
to  say  to  you.  I  shall  only  undertake  to  encourage 
you  in  your  efforts  to  educate  yourselves,  and  to 
prepare  for  the  many  places  of  importance  that 
awaits  you. 

Character  is  not  a  garment,  to  be  put  on  all  at 
once,  but  is  of  continual  growth  day  by  day,  like  the 
island  of  the  sea,  which  begins  with  a  few  pebbles, 
and  by  a  constant  growth  it  may  become  a  body  of 
itself,  covered  over  with  God's  green  carpet.  So  is 
man's  intellectual  growth.  He  came  into  the  world 
an  unimproved  creature,  endowed  with  five  senses, 
also  a  mind  capable  of  indefinite  expansion,  and  by 
a  daily  growth  may  acquire  great  knowledge.  As 
the  island  stands  in  its  beauty,  so  may  the  man  in 
the  grandeur  and  majesty  of  his  manhood. 

A  man  with  an  integrity  of  purpose,  and  who  has 
faith  in  that  purpose,  whose  object  is  to  do  good, 
will  find  the  road  to  success.  I  claim  that  all 
men  should  go  forth  with  an  object  in  view.  When 
the  blind  man  came  to  Christ,  near  Jericho,  the  at- 
tention of  Christ  was  first  attracted  by  his  cry, 
"Thou  Son  of  David,  have  mercy  on  me  ;"  and  when 
the  man  was  brought  near,  the  first  words  of  Jesus 


LIFE     OF    GORDON.  33 


were,  "What  wilt  thou  that  I  shall  do  unto  thee?" 
And  the  blind  man's  reply  was,  "Lord,  that  I  may 
receive  my  sight."  Having  learned  his  desire,  he 
said  unto  him,  "Receive  thy  sight."  The  question 
is,  would  the  blind  man  have  received  his  sight  had  he 
not  desired  it  ?  I  venture  to  say  no. 

A  young  man,  whose  aim  is  to  make  his  mark  in 
life,  will  meet  with  many  oppositions.  Troubles 
come  in  such  ways  that  at  times  everything  seems 
dark  and  gloomy.  You  should  always  regard  diffi- 
culties as  being  stepping  stones  to  success.  Never 
stop  to  ponder  over  life's  work,  but  as  has  been 
said,  "first  be  sure  that  you  are  right,  and  then  go 
forward."  Do  like  a  man  ;  choose  a  purpose  in  life, 
and  allow  no  opportunity  to  pass  without  embracing 
it.  You  should  remember  that,  in  forming  life's 
purpose,  no  man  can  have  a  successful  career  who 
has  reference  to  himself  alone.  Therefore,  we  are 
under  the  greatest  obligation  to  form  this  purpose 
with  reference  to  our  fellow-man,  for  "no  man  can 
live  to  himself  alone."  The  second  and  great  com- 
mand is,  "Love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself;"  therefore, 
we  should  live  equally  for  the  good  of  others  as  for 
ourselves.  When  we  are  building  and  strengthen- 
ing our  own  characters,  we  should  be  building  and 
strengthening  equally  the  characters  of  others.  By 
so  doing,  you  may  accomplish  a  work,  which  will 
stand  upon  the  pages  of  history  after  you  shall 
have  passed  from  existence. 

Young  men,  you  have  entered  upon  a  life  of  in- 
finite possibilities,  and  one  of  the  grandest  oppor- 


34  LIFE     OF    GORDON. 


tunities.  God  has  endowed  you  with  faculties  cap- 
able of  indefinite  development.  You  are  upon  the 
arena  of  life  in  an  age  in  which  true  manhood  and 
efficiency  are  in  great  demand,  because  your  labor 
will  go  towards  the  making  of  our  educational  and 
religious  institutions  and  public  government,  not  for 
the  present  only,  but  for  the  future.  You  will  soon 
be  called  on  to  fill  responsible  positions.  Many  of 
you  will  be  governors  of  families — you  will  have  to 
control  educational  and  religious  institutions ;  you 
must  make  and  execute  the  laws  for  the  advance- 
ment and  protection  of  society.  Every  act,  accord- 
ing to  its  character,  is  constantly  making  a  living 
influence  for  good  or  for  evil.  In  our  daily  life  we 
are  putting  influences  into  motion  which  will  pulsate 
through  the  veins  of  humanity,  and  down  to  eter- 
nity. 

No  young  man,  with  a  sound  mind,  can  stand  at 
the  entrance  of  life  and  view  future  generations  ris- 
ing up  before  him,  endowed  with  immortality, 
knowing  that  their  destiny  will  depend  in  a  great 
measure  upon  the  young  men  of  the  day,  without 
realizing  the  necessity  of  bringing  about  a  living  in- 
fluence by  his  honesty  and  daily  deportment,  which 
will  create  a  burning  zeal  upon  the  hearts  of  those 
by  whom  he  is  surrounded  ;  that  will  constrain  them 
to  go  forth  upon  that  great  enterprise  of  life,  and  to 
carry  into  effect  such  plans  as  will  create  a  well 
regulated  system  of  education  in  every  family. 

Young  men,  you  are  under  a  great  responsibility, 
not  for  what  you  are,  but  for  what  you  ought  to  be. 


LIFE     OF    GORDON.  35 


You  are  not  only  under  an  obligation  to  do  all  for 
which  you  have  the  ability  to  do,  but  for  all  which 
you  can  acquire  an  ability  to  perform.  The  man 
with  one  talent  was  not  condemned  because  he  had 
but  one,  but  because  he  did  not  gain  another.  If 
we  are  endowed  with  one  talent,  we  must  gain  an- 
other to  it.  Young  men,  your  being  great  depends 
upon  your  own  efforts.  Nothing  can  be  accom- 
plished without  labor.  Every  man  who  has  ever 
lived  in  history,  obtained   his    ability   by    daily   toil. 

Perseverance  is  genius,  and 
Along  the  lines  of  truth 
It  will  be  rewarded. 

If  you  want  to  be  noble, 

Work  and  toil  to  make  the  way. 
If  you  want  to  be  happy, 

Seek  to  find  the  brighter  day. 

Though  your  way  be  dark  and  dreary,' 

And  your  heart  be  sick  with  fear, 
Never  stop  in  doubt  to  wonder, 

Though  you  may  have  to  shed  a  tear." 

This  is  not  all  of  the  speech,  but  simply  an  ex- 
tract which  we  chanced  to  stumble  upon  in  our  re- 
search for  facts  and  incidents. 

During  his  stay  in  Elizabeth  City  he  preached  at 
the  Baptist  Church,  and  by  request  delivered  an  ad- 
dress in  the  same  church  on  the  4th  of  June.  The 
following  is  an  extract  from  the  lecture : 

"Friends  and  Brethren :  We  cannot  say  that  we 
know  every  man's  responsibilities,  neither  can  we 
say  that  we    know   every   one's   particular   circum- 


$6  LIFE     OF    GORDON. 


stances ;  but  we  have  a  knowledge,  every  one  of  us 
for  ourselves,  to  the  effect  that  we  may  engage  in  a 
good  work  ;  yes,  a  vigorous  work,  one  that  would 
give  us  a  fair  degree  of  success  through  life. 

It  matters  not  whether  a  man  be  young  or  near 
the  middle  of  life,  he  may  have  forty  or  fifty  years 
of  usefulness  before  him.  What,  can  he  not  ac- 
complish in  this  time  a  work  that  will  stand  for 
years,  and  remain  for  the  generation  which  are  to 
succeed  him  ?  Yes,  by  acquired  ability  he  can  ac- 
complished a  work  that  will  stand  upon  the  pages 
of  history  when  he  shall  have  passed  away. 

Some  men  boast  about  having  great  natural  abil- 
ity, and  they  make  great  failures  in  life.  Man  is  un- 
fit for  his  life's  work  unless  he  has  undergone  a  pro- 
cess of  discipline  of  mind  and  head.  To  succeed 
in  life,  this  must  be  done.  That  there  must  be  the 
natural  ability,  as  capital  with  which  to  start,  I  frank- 
ly admit ;  but  there  must  be  a  careful  development 
of  these  powers,  and  these  powers,  for  their  suc- 
cessful development,  depend  upon  self-effort. 

The  arm  of  a  child  pinioned  to  its  side,  wastes 
and  dies.  The  same  is  true  of  every  faculty  of 
mind  and  heart.  When  growth  ends,  decay  begins, 
and  as  our  arm  may  be  destroyed  by  disuse,  so  may 
our  capacity  for  truth.  Development,  growth,  there- 
fore, comes  by  effort.  There  is  no  truth  more  clear- 
ly demonstrated  than  that  great  men  and  great 
achievements  come  not  by  chance.  Hiram  R.  Rev- 
els and  John  M.  Langston  became  great  men  by  in- 
vesting their  talents  and  acquiring   other  talents. 


LIFE     OF     GORDON.  $7 


All  great  men  became  great  because  of  acquired 
ability.  Natural  endowment  constitutes  the  man 
embryo,  and  it  is  highly  essential  to  the  being  of 
man,  for  "as  the  flower  is  in  the  bud,  so  is  the  gen- 
eral or  statesman  in  the  boy."  But  men  generally 
have  only  enough  natural  ability  to  start  with,  and 
along  the  lines  of  well  directed  efforts,  they  day  by 
day  acquire  more  for  this  life's  work.  For  instance, 
a  young  man  says  that  he  has  been  called  to  preach. 
At  the  time  of  his  calling  he  may  not  be  able  to 
teach  the  smallest  child.  He  has  good  natural  abil- 
ity, but  to  teach  the  Bible  he  must  have  acquired 
ability,  and  to  receive  which,  he  puts  himself  under 
an  instructor.  Years  are  given  in  the  disciplining 
of  the  mind  and  head  before  he  enters  upon  his 
work.  What  is  true  in  this  case  was  true  in  the 
cases  of  Fred.  Douglas  and  John  M.  Langston ;  if 
not  in  the  college  walls,  it  was  by  some  benevolent 
friend. 

Some  men  fail  in  life  because  they  fail  to  find  the 
work  for  which  they  were  made.  They  try  to  do 
what  God  has  intended  that  other  men  should  do. 
Every  man  should  seek  to  find  a  sphere,  and.  then 
go  forth  with  some  decision  of  character.  Success 
depends  upon  self-effort.  Never  be  an  imitator 
of  other  men ;  be  an  independent  thinker. 

"Give  every  man  thine  ear,  but  few  thy  voice ; 

Take  each  man's  censure,  but  reserve  thy  judgment." 

It  matters  not  what  a  man's  calling  is,  he  should 
remember  to  live  a  successful  and  useful  life.     He 


38  LIFE     OF    GORDON. 


must  carry  an  influence  daily  that  will  enter  the 
house  and  hearts  of  the  people  for  good  that  can- 
not be  limited  by  time.  He  who  would  live  to  be  a 
success,  should  remember  that  the  beauty  of  life  is 
self-controlment  Some  men  make  great  failures 
in  life  because  they  fail  to  control  their  resentful 
passions.  Man  should  learn  to  govern  himself,  and 
then  he  can  better  govern  his  people. 

"Beware  of  entrance  to  a  quarrel ;  but,  being  in, 
Bear  't  that  the  opposed  may  beware  of  thee." 

The  man  who  intends  to  be  felt  among  the  na- 
tions of  earth,  will  not  find  every  man  his  friend. 
Every  man  owes  his  success  to  himself.  He  who 
fails  to  toil  will  fail  to  succeed.  Douglas  and 
Langston  have  stirred  and  swayed  the  hearts  of 
nations  for  good  only  after  years  Of  toil,  of  rigid 
discipline.  Newton  was  able  tQ  say  why  and  by 
what  law  the  apple  fell  from  the  tree  to  the  ground, 
only  after  years  of  growth  and  discipline.  There 
must  be  application  to  the  work  in  hand.  Every 
power  must  be  brought  in  action  to  a  direct  conse- 
cration to  the  work  in  hand.  There  can  be  no 
growth  in  any  direction  that  is  not  entered  upon 
enthusiastically,  and  the  higher  a  man  places  his 
mark  the  greater  will  be  his  achievement." 

All  of  these  exercises  of  Mr.  Gordon's  were  at- 
tended with  large  crowds  of  old  and  young — many 
to  criticise,  some  to  skepticise,  some  to  wonder, 
some  to  greet,  and  many  to  admire.  Scores  of 
heartfelt  wishes  for  his  success  were  breathed  upon 


LIFE     OF    GORDON.  39 


him  as  he  passed  through  the  streets  of  the  old 
city,  where  he  had  taken  his  first  entrance  to  fame. 
Not  a  few  invitations  to  dine  and  tea  were  accorded 
Mr.  Gordon,  which  he  was  compelled  to  decline,  owing 
to  the  limited  time  he  had  to  remain  in  that  city. 

From  thence  he  went  to  Edenton,  N.  C,  where 
he  preached  twice ;  from  thence  to  Plymouth,  N. 
C,  from  thence  to  Windsor,  N.  C,  from  thence  to 
Washington,  N.  C,  from  thence  to  Tarboro,  N.  C, 
from  thence  to  Wilson,  N.  C,  from  thence  to  Golds- 
bo  ro,  N.  C. ;  from  thence  he  went  to  Kingston,  N. 
C.,  from  thence  to  Newbern,  N.  C.  He  visited 
many  other  cities,  but  these  are  the  principal  ones. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

REMARKS    AND    COMMENTS. 

The  whole  tour  of  Mr.  Gordon  through  the  old 
North  State  was  one  grand  travel  of  success  and 
enthusiasm.  Whenever  it  was  known  that  he  would 
be  at  any  particular  point,  great  preparation  would 
be  made  to  give  him  a  pleasant  stay  in  their  midst ; 
but  the  prime  point  in  his  tour  is  the  sway  of  his 
ministerial  influences.  He  was  heard  of  from  town 
to  town  as  the  pulpit  orator.  His  preaching  was  at- 
tended by  astonishingly  large  crowds.  His  preach- 
ing, however,  was  not  confined  to  the  Baptist  church 
alone ;  he  very  often  preached  in  all  the  churches 
of  a  city  before  he  left  it,  and  in  whatever  city  he 
was  not  received,  which  was  very  few,  he  left  on  the 


4-0  LIFE     OF    GORDON. 


next  train,  if  it  was  a  freight  train.  In  all  of  Mr. 
Gordon's  course  in  preaching  at  different  points,  and 
to  different  people,  the  same  stalwart,  manly  appeal 
to  the  wicked  prevailed.  Everywhere  he  lifted  his 
sword  men  fell  before  him  ;  in  whatever  society  he 
was  thrown  he  still  lifted  up  Jesus  to  the  people, 
with  seemingly  an  irresistible  influence.  Such  men 
are  truly  the  men  to  preach  in  this  age. 

God  calls  for  valiant-hearted  men  to  do  his  work, 
such  as  are  not  afraid  to  launch  out  in  the  deep  and 
let  down  their  nets  and  sound  aloud  the  trump  of 
God  in  the  holy  mountains.  Charles  Gordon  seems 
to  have  been  born  for  that  sphere.  Wherever  he 
went  he  did  not  scruple  to  open  his  mouth  for  God, 
and  the  word  did  not  return  void,  but  was  blessed 
with  gracious  out-pouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
resulted  in  the  reclaiming  of  scores  of  sinners. 
There  was  something  magnetic  about  his  preaching 
that  gave  it  a  power  of  attraction.  What  it  was, 
with  the  exception  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  history  is  left 
to  conjecture.  But  when  and  where  this  young  man 
was  to  preach,  great  crowds  turned  out  to  hear 
him.  Every  step  he  made  was  onward  and  up- 
ward. His  looks  soon  betook  the  manor  of  his  dis- 
position. But  yesterday  a  gay,  sporting,  frolicsome 
youth,  to-day  a  model  Christian ;  but  yesterday  the 
centre-flower  of  the  gay  circle  of  his  companions, 
to-day  the  solemn  spokesman,  whose  only  conver- 
sation is  religion  and  its  solemnity.  What  a  change  ! 
Truly  "God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way  his  wonders 
to  perform." 


LIFE     OF    GORDON.  41 


No  heart  rejoiced  more  under  the  preached  gos- 
pel by  this  young  herald  of  the  cross,  than  his  faithful 
mother,  who  had  consecrated  him  to  the  Master 
years  before,  and  who  had  prayed  for  his  confirma- 
tion. Now  she  lives  to  witness  the  fruits  of  her 
earnest  labors  ripen  into  a  monumental  Christian 
soldier — a  workman  that  need  not  be  ashamed.  She 
now  sees,  with  the  eyes  from  which  so  many  tears 
have  fallen  in  anxious  meditation  over  her  child,  the 
Father  accept  him  as  his  embassador,  and  crown 
his  labors  with  abundant  success.  Charles  had  con- 
secrated himself  fully  to  God,  and  laid  hold  of  the 
high  calling,  with  all  his  soul  in  the  work.  This  is 
the  key-note  to  the  work  of  preaching  the  gospel — 
consecration.  To  do  anything  successfully,  one 
must  be  consecrated  to  that  work.  The  apostle  has 
it  right  when  he  declares,  "Though  I  speak  with  the 
tongue  of  an  angel,  if  I  have  not  charity  I  become 
as  sounding  brass  or  a  tinkling  symbol."  His 
preaching  was  filled  with  proofs  that  he  himself  felt 
what  he  preached.  He  went  about  it  like  he  loved 
it,  and  dealt  out  the  gospel  as  one  having  authority. 
Boldly  and  fearlessly  he  proclaimed  the  unsearch- 
able riches  of  the  word.  He  seemed  to  have  but 
one  aim  and  but  one  end  in  view.  The  salvation 
of  souls  was  the  grand  object  of  his  whole  life,  and 
the  soul  and  centre  of  his  preaching.  The  manner 
of  delivery  seemed  to  add  an  unusual  flavor  to  his 
preaching,  an  essence  which  captivates  and  carries 
the  imagination  upward.  His  sermons  are  of  two- 
fold substance — body  and  soul.     The   body   is  the 


42  LIFE     OF    GORDON. 


word,  its  sentences,  its  figures  of  speech,  full  of  il- 
lustration, rhetoric,  logic  and  philosophy — it  com- 
bines literary,  logical  and  oratorical  enforcement,  by 
which  the  intelligence  is  captivated,  the  ear  pleased, 
the  taste  gratified,  and  man  is  put  into  a  mood  of 
enrapture.  This  is  the  part  in  which  the  genius  and 
power  of  the  preacher  exhibits  themselves,  in  which 
the  power  of  argument  wrestles  with  the  great  sub- 
jects on  which  it  writhes  its  strength,  and  in  which 
the  tact,  taste,  skill  and  imagination  of  the  man  in 
the  pulpit  do  their  finest  posturing ;  which  has  its 
part  in  getting  praise  and  creating  sensation.  Then 
there  is  an  unusual  glow  of  the  brightest  lustre 
about  him — something  of  the  soul  which  Christ  had 
touched,  which  is  kindred  with  uper  worldliness, 
which  so  distinguished  him.  There  is  something  of 
faith,  hope  and  love,  something  unselfish,  solicitous 
of  doing  good,  genuine,  spirit-seeking,  unsensual, 
pure,  which  is  heavenly  in  its  virtues,  and  helpful 
affectionateness,  which  separates  Christ  from  man 
and  indicates  his  divineness.  This  lights  up  the  sen- 
tences of  his  sermons,  and  breathes  into  them  the 
quickening  sparks  of  the  hallowed  fire,  and  charges 
it  with  the  power  of  healing,  comforting  and  bless- 
ing. 


LIFE     OF    GORDON.  43 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

GORDON    RECEIVES     A     DOUBLE     CALL HE     MEDITATES 

AND  FINALLY  ACCEPTS  THE  CHARGE  OF  THE  FIRST 
BAPTIST  CHURCH,  PETERSBURG,  VA. HIS  FIRST  SER- 
MON  OUTLINES THE  RESPONSIBILITIES  INCUM- 
BENT ON  THE  PASTOR  OF  THIS  CHURCH HIS  MAN- 
NER OF  PREACHING,  &C. 

He  entered  school  again  in  the  fall  of  1883,  and 
remained  until  January,  1884,  when  he  received  a 
call  to  the  Mount  Calvary  Baptist  Church,  of  Rich- 
mond, Va.  In  the  same  month  he  was  called  to  the 
charge  of  the  largest  membership  known  to  history, 
between  four  and  five  thousand,  the  First  Baptist 
Church,  of  Petersburg,  Va.  This  call  is  one  of  the 
mysteries  of  God's  ways.  This  church  had  set 
down  on  young  men  as  pastors.  Rev.  Gordon  had 
never  visited  the  church  but  once — then  by  special  in- 
vitation— and  is  only  twenty-three  years  of  age  and 
unmarried.  Yet  the  whole  church  seems  united  on 
him  as  a  pastor.  No  one  vouched  for  him  but  God. 
This  is  an  evidence  that  God  has  chosen  no  more 
men  than  he  has  prepared  fields  of  labor  for.  The 
evidence  of  a  man's  being  called  to  the  work  of  the 
gospel  ministry  is  evinced  by  his  success.  If  after 
many  years  of  hard  labor  the  man  is  unable  to  ac- 
complish anything,  he  may  rest  assured  that  he  has 
hold  of  the  wrong  profession.  To  be  a  successful 
minister,  a  man  must  be  endowed  with  a  power  of 
will.  "Where  there  is  a  will  there  is  a  way  ;"  not 
a  Solomon,  not  a  Plato,  not  a  Harrington  has  said  it, 


44  LIFE     OF    GORDON. 


but  in  the  unpublished  book  of  the  Universe  this 
wholesome  truth  is  recorded,  and  the  world  accepts 
it  as  an  authentic  maxim.  The  world  does  not  hes- 
itate to  believe  it,  and  never  will  until  it  goes  tri- 
umphantly up  that  golden  way  opened  for  its  ever- 
lasting march  by  the  almighty  will.  Rev.  C.  B.  W. 
Gordon  considered  one  month  and  then  responded, 
accepting  the  call  to  the  First  Baptist  Church,  of 
Petersburg,  Va.  Awful  and  weighty  are  the  incum- 
brances upon  the  minister  who  goes  in  and  out  be- 
fore this  people,  A  church  one  hundred  and  four- 
teen years  travel  towards  Zion,  with  upwards  of 
four  thousand  members  to  be  looked  after,  is  no 
child's  play,  and  the  servant  who  undertakes  such 
responsibilities  must  truly  possess  more  zeal  and 
Christian  courage  than  is  ordinarily  met  with  among 
us.  To  guide  this  host  of  Israelites  through  the 
dark  and  thorny  desert,  to  pilot  this  large  ship  of 
Zion  through  the  fiery  trials  and  tempestuous  waves 
of  this  sin-cursed  world,  is  a  great  test  of  religious 
manhood.  Surrounded,  as  he  who  preaches  to  this 
people  is,  with  every  temptation  that  earth  affords, 
one  must  be  pure  gold  to  stand  the  test  of  fire — that 
overcomes  temptations,  that  controls  his  passions, 
and  must  preach  the  gospel  without  mixture  or  er- 
ror. He  must  be  able  to  preach  the  gospel  in  its 
purity  and  with  marked  intelligence.  Truly,  to  suc- 
cessfully lead  this  people,  one  must  be  more  than 
the  average  preacher,  and  more  than  the  average 
Christian. 

In  the  morning  congregations  of  this  church,  the 


LIFE     OF    GORDON.  45 


cream  of  the  literary  men  and  women  of  the  city, 
and  the  most  expert  critics  and  skeptics,  make  up 
the  majority  of  visitors.  To  properly  benefit  this 
class  of  persons,  the  preacher  must  certainly  be  an 
intelligent  man — acquainted  with  all  the  various 
doctrines  and  isms  of  infidelity,  and  how  to  handle 
them  with  convincing  scriptural  arguments,  capable 
of  counteracting  them  and  captivating  the  reason- 
ing faculties  of  such  persons,  before  these  baneful 
isms  shall  have  deranged  their  souls  beyond  the 
hope  of  recovery.  To  speak  without  a  figure,  the 
preacher  must  be  able  to  present  the  plan  of  salva- 
tion to  such  men  philosophically,  logically  and  irre- 
futably, or  such  people  are  not  benefitted,  and  for 
the  lack  of  which,  many  poor  souls  are  lead  captive 
by  satan  to  the  gulf  of  misery,  from  whence  no 
traveler  returns. 

If  to  meet  this  class  of  people  was  the  only  special 
requisite,  the  preacher  might  have  an  easier  task  ;  but 
this  is  not  the  case.  At  night  there  is  a  large  outpour 
of  such  of  our  race  as  are  compelled  to  labor  or 
are  in  service  in  private  families.  The  majority  of 
these  require  plain  preaching  put  to  them,  unlike 
that  of  the  morning  congregation ;  hence  his  con- 
gregation is  made  up  of  two  distinct  qualities  of 
people,  combining  every  stage  of  human  society, 
every  profession,  vocation,  as  well  as  every  ism  and 
cism  among  men.  To  be  pastor  of  this  church, 
therefore,  is  to  be  a  man  such  as  we  rarely  stumble 
upon. 

From  the  day  Rev.  C.  B.  W.  Gordon  took  charge 


46  IIFE     OF    GORDON, 


of  this  church  it  has  flourished.  His  first  sermon 
was  from  Matthew  28th  chapter,  and  20th  verse, 
using  as  a  text  these  words  :  "I  am  with  you  always, 
even  to  the  end  of  the  world  ;"  the  subject  was  "The 
Redeemer's  Promise."  He  handled  his  subject  ably 
and  eloquently,  making  three  grand  points. 

1.  He  noticed  the  sanctity  of  the  promise,  refer- 
ring to  many  proof-texts  and  comparisons. 

2.  He  showed  the  authenticity  of  this  promise. 

3.  The  comfort  this  divine  promise  affords. 

In  this  sermon  Rev.  C.  B.  W.  Gordon  did  great 
credit  to  himself  and  elicited  many  complimentary 
remarks  from  all  the  papers  published  in  the  city. 
His  preaching  was  filled  with  wisdom,  pithy  oxism, 
and  abounded  with  philosophy  and  practical  life. 

Since  he  has  been  pastor  of  this  church  he  has 
created  and  put  in  motion  a  healthy  stream  of  mor- 
als, that  is  as  clear  of  spots  and  as  untarnished  as 
the  shining  rays  of  sunlight. 

Although  the  flower  of  youth  has  barely  shed  its 
bloom,  he  nevertheless  carries  in  his  every  day  walk 
an  undaunted  solemnity  that  tells  the  world  that  his 
mission  is  to  cry  "Behold  the  Lamb."  There  is  a 
silent  preaching  in  his  every  day  or  daily  deport- 
ment that  constrains  men  and  women  to  say,  "sure- 
ly he  is  a  man  of  God."  The  sinful  pride  so  com- 
mon among  ministers,  and  most  especially  those 
who  hold  good  charges,  has  no  resting  place  in  his 
bosom.  Yet  he  has  a  high  appreciative  self-respect 
and  encourages  the  same  in  the  pulpit.  Besides 
being  logical  and  philosophical,  his  preaching  is  di- 


LIFE     OF    GORDON.  47 


rect.  He  has  a  certain  Christian  aim  in  view,  seem- 
ingly distinctively  fixed  in  his  mind.  He  then  lifts 
his  voice  and  fires  directly  at  his  purpose.  Some- 
times his  aim  seems  to  be  to  preach  a  Christian 
doctrinal  sermon,  to  magnify  a  Christian  virtue,  to 
glorify  a  Christian  character,  to  interpret  an  obscure 
scripture,  to  secure  the  performance  of  a  certian 
duty — say,  for  instance,  building  or  repairing  the 
house  of  worship,  or  any  other  Christian  duty  that 
demands  his  immediate  efforts.  Like  a  gospel 
marksman  he  fires  right  into  the  world  and  brings 
home  game  at  every  discharge.  There  is  no  crack- 
ing away  at  random  with  him  ;  it  is  straight  shooting 
every  pop,  and  never  fails  to  enter  the  heart  with  the 
piercing  arrow  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  His  preaching 
has  not  a  commanding,  but  a  persuasive  air ;  that  is, 
it  does  not  force  but  wins,  does  not  drive  but  leads 
men  to  God  and  to  the  performance  of  their  Chris- 
tian duties. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

HIS    ABILITY    AS    A    MODERATOR. 

Probably  there  is  no  qualification  of  ministers 
more  important  among  the  African  churches  than 
this.  Church  government  almost  entirely  depends 
upon  the  minister's  deciplinary  management.  Where 
every  member  is  allowed  the  same  authority  as  an- 
other, some  one  will  try  to  carry  that  authority  too 
far,  and  general  disorder  will  naturally  result ;  and 
if  the  moderator  is  either  lacking  in  knowledge  or 


48  LIFE     OF    GORDON. 


manhood,  it  is  a  hard  drag.  But  in  C.  B.  W.  Gor- 
don is  combined  both  knowledge  and  spinality. 
His  is  a  level-headed,  firm  and  unshaken  mode  of 
ruling,  with  an  essence  of  serenity  and  calmness 
that  oils  the  wheels  of  his  church  business,  and 
makes  everything  go  sweet  and  harmonious.  On 
being  asked  by  the  writer,  one  of  the  oldest  church 
officials  of  Petersburg  (Deacon  Spencer  Green)  said 
that,  "Rev.  C.  B.  W.  Gordon  was  the  best  moderator 
he  ever  saw."  There  is  no  dodging  the  question  in 
him;  his  ruling  is  like  his  preaching,  scriptural  and  di- 
rect, knowing  no  man.  The  only  question  with  him  is 
the  facts  and  the  law,  with  these  he  condemns  or  clears. 
Amidst  the  wildest  strua-pfles  Qf  excitement  he  is 
still  undismayed  and  self-possessed,  and  when  his 
meetings  begin  to  drift  off  from  the  Christian  land- 
mark, he  detects  it  in  a  moment,  and  applies  a  wise 
remedy ;  hence  good  order,  felicity  and  joy  is  the 
result. 


CHAPTER   X. 

Gordon's  building  qualities. 

Rev.  C.  B.  W.  Gordon,  as  we  have  elsewhere 
said,  is  not  only  an  orator,  but  he  has  other  endow- 
ments equally  as  valuable  as  the  oratorical  endow- 
ment. When  he  came  to  this  church  he  found  it 
not  as  he  thought  it  ought  to  be  in  many  respects, 
most  especially  the  building.  He  therefore  com- 
menced to  preach  a  series  of  direct  sermons,  strik- 
ing every  lick  at  a  direct  object.     He  knew  that  in 


LIFE    OF    GORDON.  49 


order  to  affect  any  change  in  the  building,  he  must 
affect  the  people.  They  had  to  be  stirred  to  the 
heart  before  the  work  could  begin.  To  do  this  re- 
quired two  grand  things,  viz.,  to  prepare  and  bring 
before  them  a  sound  reason  for  all  they  were  re- 
quired to  aid  in  doing.  2nd.  To  show  the  ways 
and  means  of  doing  it — that  is,  the  people  must  be 
made  to  see  the  need  of  money,  and  then  instructed 
as  to  the  best  way  to  raise  it,  without  making  a  drag 
or  waterhall,  and  besides,  they  must  be  reached 
through  the  minister  in  a  wise  and  effectual  man- 
ner. He  therefore  made  an  estimate  of  the  work 
and  the  amount  of  money  to  be  raised,  and  began 
to  preach  directly  at  that  point  with  all  the  power 
he  could  summon.  There  was  no  beating  about 
the  bush,  or  boyish  play  about  it ;  it  was  business, 
direct,  positive  and  efficient.  He  soon  made  his 
congregation  feel  as  he  did,  and  the  work  was  im- 
mediately begun.  He  planned  the  whole  remodel- 
ing of  his  church  within  a  short  while,  then  he  called 
his  official  members  together  and  presented  his 
plans,  and  like  men  of  God  they  went  united  into 
the  work.  It  was  no  child's  sport  to  plan  the  differ- 
ent improvements  made  on  the  building,  and  yet  to 
plan  is  easier  than  to  carry  into  execution.  All  of 
this  vast  business  rushed  upon  him  and  demanded 
a  portion  of  his  thoughts,  while  his  membership  is 
very  large  and  himself  constantly  called  out  to  of- 
ficiate, either  at  some  wedding  or  burial.  Thus  to 
properly  estimate  the  building  qualities  of  Rev.  C. 
B.  W.  Gordon  is  more  than  a  task    for  the  writer. 


5<D  LIFE     OF    GORDON. 


Let  the  reader  pay  a  visit  to  this  splendid  building, 
and  they  will  be  struck  with  wonder  and  amazement 
at  the  various  improvements  and  additions  on  the 
church  edifice  ;  all  planned  and  managed  by  himself. 
He  is  endowed  with  powerful  building  capacity.  He 
is  not  satisfied  with  a  mere  makeshift,  but  he,  like 
Solomon,  wishes  the  house  of  the  Lord  to  look  fully 
as  well  as  the  house  of  satan.  He  desires  to  see 
the  house  of  the  Prince  of  Peace  look  like  the 
house  of  a  prince,  and  not  like  the  house  of  a  pauper. 
Then,  on  the  other  hand,  he  is  not  one  of  those  whose 
aspirations  swell  beyond  the  possibilities  of  his  ef- 
fort, as  do  some  of  our  ministers,  but  they  are  quite  up 
to  them.  The  whole  work  of  his  remodeling-  is  full  of 
harmony.  Every  mortise  seems  to  have  been  pre-cal- 
culated  by  him,  and  when  put  in  its  designated 
place  it  brings  both  comfort  and  harmony.  There 
is  no  blank  squares  in  his  building — all  is  complete. 
Its  manner  of  arrangement  and  execution  is  in  it- 
self a  wide  field  of  labor  for  one  mind,  exclusive  of 
everything  else,  yet  it  seems  to  be  the  very  thing 
for  Gordon.  Indeed,  he  has  such  a  progressive 
mind  that  we  are  at  a  loss  to  conjecture  how  he  will 
content  himself  when  his  church  is  completed  and 
he  has  no  building  in  operation.  He  seems  to  de- 
light himself  in  seeing  men  work  upon  a  house  for 
God.  Somehow  he  appears  to  think  that  there  is 
no  real  good  in  a  church  unless  that  church  is  at 
work.  "Work  earnest  and  work  ever,"  is  his  motto. 
It  is  a  pity  for  us  that  every  church  has  not  a  Gor- 
don.    Men  too  often  find  a  church  in  an  unfinished 


LIFE     OF    GORDON.  5 1 


condition,  allow  it  to  remain  so  for  years,  and  pocket 
every  cent  they  can  possibly  raise,  which,  thank 
God,  is  very  little,  stay  there  as  long  as  they  can, 
or  until  they  chance  to  be  called  to  some  other  field, 
then  they  go  off  and  leave  the  church  just  as  they 
found  it,  except  he  leaves  either  a  drained  congre- 
gation, discouraged  by  paying  a  heavy  salary  and 
seeing  no  benefits,  or  a  frozen  church,  as  cold  as  an 
iceberg,  which  the  best  minister  this  side  of  the 
north  frigid  zone  can  hardly  warm,  though  he  calls 
down  fire  from  above. 


m 


A 


J 


HI 


FROM  1756  TO  1885. 


THE  first  organization  was  in  Prince  George 
county,  under  the  pastorate  of  Elder  John 
Benn.  The  first  membership  came  from  Prince 
George,  Charles  City  and  Bluestone,and  were  known 
as  New  Lights.  In  1756  Elders  Wm.  Murphy, 
Phillips  and  Mackey  preached  to  the  scattered 
members  of  New  Lights.  In  1758  or  '59  arrange- 
ments were  made  to  organize  the  three  into  a  church 
on  the  farm  of  Col.  Byrd,  but  various  difficulties  in- 
tervened, and  they  remained  scattered  until  one 
hundred  years  ago,  when  the  Rev.  John  Michaels 
collected  them  together  and  formed  a  regular  Bap- 
tist church  on  the  estate  of  Col.  Byrd,  on  James 
river,  and  the  following  colored  ministers  were  or- 
dained :  Aaron  Gardiner,  Moses  Gardiner,  Benjamin 
Gardiner,  Thomas  Gardiner  and  Benjamin  Farrell. 
After  the  burning  of  the  quarters  on  Col. 
Byrd's  estate,  this  church  came  to  this  city 
and    built    their    house    of   worship   on    Harrison 


FIRST  BAPTIST  CHURCH,  HARRISON  STREET. 

Foundation  115x75  Feet       Seating  Capacity,  2,500;  with 
Camp  Chairs,  3,000. 


CHURCH     HISTORY.  53 


street,  near  where  the  church  now  stands.  Elder 
John  Benn  was  the  pastor  here.  This  house 
was  burned,  and  the  congregation  moved  to  Oak 
street,  where  Oaks  Warehouse  now  stands.  Elder 
Benn  died  while  the  church  worshipped  at  this  place. 
After  his  death  Elder  Daniel  Jackson  took  charge 
of  the  congregation.  About  this  time  Mr.  Robert 
Boiling,  father  of  Cols.  George  and  Robert  Boiling, 
sold  them,  for  a  nominal  sum,  the  lot  on  Harrison 
street,  where  the  old  house  once  stood,  facing  Ma- 
ple Lane.  Elder  Jackson  discharged  all  the  duties 
of  a  pastor  until  after  Nat  Turner's  insurrection, 
when  the  law  was  changed  so  as  to  have  a  white 
person  present  at  all  church  meetings. 

In  1842  the  church  had  a  great  revival,  and  a  great 
many  were  Baptized.  At  this  time  the  church  was 
under  the  charge  of  Rev.  Mr.  Gwaltney,  who  served 
both  this  and  Gilfield  church.  In  1 847  the  old  house 
was  dedicated,  the  sermon  being  preached  by  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Jennett.  In  1848  there  was  another  large 
increase  in  the  membership  of  the  church.  In  1849 
Elder  Jackson  had  become  too  feeble,  and  Elder  R. 
N.  Lee,  (white)  was  called  to  the  pastorate  of  the 
church.  He  remained  one  year,  and  in  1858  the 
Rev.  John  Butler,  (white)  took  charge  of  the  church. 
In  i860  six  hundred  joined  the  church.  The  old 
church  being  too  small,  the  lot  where  the  present 
church  stands  was  secured,  and  a  house  was  built 
at  the  cost  of  $11,000.  In  1863  this  house  was 
dedicated,  and  the  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Hume.     Rev.  Mr.   Butler  left  in   1865,  at 


54  CHURCH     HISTORY. 


which  time  the  church  had  a  membership  of  1,700 
members.  Rev.  Harrison  Scott  was  then  called, 
and  after  him  Elder  John  H.  Gaines.  In  1866  the 
house  was  burned,  but  the  leading  white  citizens  of 
the  town  at  once  subscribed  the  sum  of  $3,000  to 
rebuild  it,  single  individuals  among  our  white  citi- 
zens giving  as  much  as  $500  each. 

In  1869  the  work  of  building  the  present  house 
was  commenced.  In  1870  the  house  was  sufficient- 
ly advanced  to  worship  in.  Rev.  P.  T.  Smith  was 
pastor  for  18  months.  Rev.  J.  A.  Black,  of  Nor- 
folk, Va.,  was  called  in  1873,  and  served  until  his 
death,  in  1883.  Rev.  C.  B.  W.  Gordon  was  called 
in  1884,  the  tenth  pastor  of  this  church  since  its  or- 
ganization, and  seven  houses  of  worship  have  been 
used  by  them. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

PROGRESS  OF  THE  CHURCH  UNDER  THE  CHARGE  OF 

GORDON. 

Since  Rev.  C.  B.  W.  Gordon  was  installed  pastor 
of  this  church,  it  has  been  in  the  most  prosperous 
condition.  The  church  had  undergone  very  much 
conflict  before  Rev.  Mr.  Gordon  took  charge.  Their 
pastor  had  died,  and  they  were  a  long  while  without 
a  shepherd.  They  prayed  the  Lord  to  send  them  a 
good  minister.  (More  than  once  had  this  church 
been  stabbed  to  her  very  vitals  by  bad  preachers.) 
She  having  lost  one — Rev.  Mr.  Black — in  whom  she 
had  the  highest  confidence,  and  under  whose  leader- 


CHURCH     HISTORY.  55 


ship  the  church  had  been  more  prosperous  than  at 
any  period  since  its  organization.  The  church  was 
now  at  a  stand-still.  Their  devout  deacons,  upon 
whom  so  much  depends,  cheered  the  fainting  lambs 
by  constantly  assuring  them  that  God,  in  his  own 
appointed  time,  would  send  them  a  pastor.  Differ- 
ent ministers  passed  and  preached  to  this  congre- 
gation— not  a  few  in  number.  In  this  way  the  church 
had  a  fine  opportunity  to  select  a  suitable  pastor. 
Finally,  in  January,  1884,  the  whole  church  seemed 
to  centre  on  Rev.  C.  B.  W.  Gordon,  who  had  visited 
the  city  but  once,  then  by  special  invitation.  A 
great  revival  of  religion  immediately  ensued,  and 
many  souls  were  converted  to  God  and  added  to 
the  church — :five  hundred  in  number.  The  congre- 
gation in  itself  seemed  revived  and  enlivened. 
There  has  been  a  thorough  remodeling  of  the  build- 
ing since  Rev.  C.  B.  W.  Gordon  has  been  pastor ; 
there  is  under  execution  at  present  on  the  church, 
work  to  the  amount  of  $10,000.  When  it  is  com- 
pleted, which  it  soon  will  be,  it  will  be  one  of  the 
finest  and  most  commodious  church  edifices  in  the 
South. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  REMODELING  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

This  remodeling  is  the  grandest  in  the  South.  It 
makes  the  church  look  as  if  it  was  built  entirely  new. 
All  the  slating  has  been  taken  off  and  new  slating 
put  on,   and  the  steeple  newly  slated,  making  it  the 


56  CHURCH     HISTORY. 


grandest  and  most  lofty  in  the  city.  The  windows 
have  all  been  taken  out  and  fine  stained  glass  win- 
dows  put  in.  The  up-stairs  arrangements  are  un- 
surpassed by  any  we  have  ever  seen.  The  pews 
are  in  the  finest  style,  made  with  doors  and  cushions. 
The  gallery  is  made  swinging,  and  yet  on  posts, 
with  fine  iron  railings.  The  pulpit  suit  is  the  latest 
and  finest  style  in  this  country,  (New  England  pul- 
pit suit),  costing  $200  or  $300.  It  is  on  the  order  of 
the  altar  mentioned  by  the  Revelator — the  seven 
golden  candle-sticks.  It  is  simply  magnificent.  The 
pool  is  another  new  arrangement ;  it  has  every 
convenience  that  could  possibly  be  had.  It  is  en- 
tered by  two  doors — one  from  each  way.  Through 
these  doors  the  candidates  enter  and  are  baptized, 
and  return,  the  ladies  to  one  room  in  the  building 
and  the  gentlemen  to  the  other.  The  pool  has  two 
pipes  connected  with  it  for  the  purpose  of  receiving 
and  discharging  the  water.  There  has  been  made 
an  addition  to  the  church  of  a  class-room,  pastor's 
study,  &c.  This  class-room  is  to  afford  instruction 
to  the  young  men  of  this  congregation  who  wish  to 
take  a  course  in  theology,  and  are  not  prepared  to 
attend  theological  schools.  These  classes  are  taught 
by  Rev.  C.  B.  W.  Gordon.  There  is  no  small  num- 
ber of  young  men  in  this  church  who  avail  them- 
selves of  this  opportunity.  On  the  bottom  floor 
there  is  a  deacons'  room,  a  trustees'  room  and  gen- 
eral hall-way,  where  parties  entering  the  church 
from  the  rear  may  stop  and  pull  off  their  rubbers^ 
&c,  besides   they   have   a   large   and  commodious 


CHURCH     HISTORY.  57 

room,  known  as  the  basement  or  lecture  room, 
in  which  the  Sunday  school  meets,  and  in  which 
they  hold  prayer  meetings,  &c.  This  room  will 
seat  about  2,000  people'  comfortably.  Along  the 
sides  of  the  walls,  on  the  outside  of  the  edi- 
fice, are  two  air  walls,  four  feet  from  the  house. 
In  front  of  this  church  stands  three  fine  lamps, 
throwing  a  brilliant  light  into  the  entire  church 
yard.  The  church  is  enclosed  by  an  iron  fence 
on  stone  curbing,  with  three  gates.  The  steps 
of  the  basement  are  nice  and  durable  stone,  while 
the  steps  on  the  outside  leading  up  stairs  are  iron. 
On  ascending  the  steps  outside,  you  enter  a  large 
vestibule,  admitting  people  from  three  doors,  and 
leading  through  a  common  way  or  single  door  into 
the  church,  or  still  ascending  another  stairway  into 
an  upper  vestibule  and  entering  into  the  gallery. 

Every  department  of  this  church  is  lighted  with 
gas,  and  the  floor  well  carpeted  with  fine  brussel 
carpeting.  This  church,  when  finished,  will  have 
cost  for  its  construction  $50,000,  and  will  be,  with- 
out doubt,  the  most  handsome  church  in  the  South. 
There  are  various  other  improvements  that  space  in 
this  little  volume  compels  us  to  decline  mentioning. 
This  edifice  reflects  great  credit  on  the  congrega- 
tion. Her  towering  walls  and  tall  steeple  attracts 
marked  attention  from  all  who  pass,  walking  or 
driving,  in  this  portion  of  the  city.  This  church 
stands  facing  Harrison  street,  overlooking  the  Cen- 
tral Park.  It  is  said  to  be  the  best  located  church 
in  the  city. 


58  CHURCH     HISTORY. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE    CONGREGATION. 

The  congregation  of  this  church  combines  every 
vocation  and  profession  among  men.  They  are 
liberal  in  their  contributions,  cheerful  in  meetings, 
and  second  to  none  in  deportment ;  prompt  in  at- 
tendance and  hospitable  in  caring  for  each  other's 
welfare.  The  members  are  very  obedient  in  church 
council,  which,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  is  very  rare  among 
us.  Taken  as  a  whole,  they  display  a  marked  de- 
gree of  intelligence  and  moral  suasion. 

TEEE    SUNDAY    SCHOOL. 
DEACON    SPENCER    GREEN,    SUPERINTENDENT. 

This  school  was  established  immediately  after  the 
Emancipation,  by  Spencer  Green,  who  has  ever 
since  stood  at  the  helm  and  piloted  the  heaven- 
bound  ship  Zionward.  No  branch  of  God's  Zion 
has  been  more  prosperous  than  this  school.  Glo- 
rious work !  Too  much  cannot  be  said  of  it.  It 
has  served  as  the  nursery  of  the  church,  from  which 
scores  of  young  plants  have  been  transplanted  in 
the  Church  of  Christ.  It  has  grown  steadily  year 
by  year,  under  the  leadership  of  this  faithful  ser- 
vant of  the  Master,  multiplying  her  hands  a  thou- 
sand fold.  Shaken  by  many  a  wind  and  rifted  by 
many  a  thunderbolt,  she  still  has  her  vast  flock  of 
lambs  on  the  way  to  Canaan.  Through  heat  and 
cold,  through  sunshine  and  showers,  this  flock  of 
God's  workers  crowds  the  church  doors  every  Sun- 
day, and  in  due  time  their  sweet   voices   are   heard 


CHURCH     HISTORY.  59 


to  break  the  stillness  of  the  air.  From  this  school 
workers  have  gone  to  every  nook  and  corner  of 
the  city  on  missions  for  the  fallen  ones.  Blandford 
and  Old  street  schools  are  branches  of  this  school. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE    CHOIR MR.    J.    M.    LEIGH,    CHORISTER. 

This  church  has  a  choir  unsurpassed  by  any  we 
have  ever  heard.  They  practice  altogether  vocal 
music,  and  is  composed  of  the  finest  musical  talent 
of  the  city.  Many  of  its  members  have  been  sing- 
ing for  years.  The  melodious  singing  this  choir  so 
timely  and  so  promptly  renders,  adds  a  charm  to 
the  services.  It  lifts  the  souls  of  the  hearers  upward 
with  a  bewitching  charm  and  carries,  on  every  pass- 
ing reflection,  the  very  essence  of  a  happy  heart. 
One  cannot  over  estimate  the  value  of  these  har- 
monious pilgrims.  The  raptuous  chanting  of  this 
choir  soothes  the  sighing  heart,  stirs  the  very  soul 
to  its  bottom  and  carries  the  imagination  upon  the 
wing  of  the  morning  to  that  world  of  songs. 

"Sing  on  your  heavenly  way, 
Ye  ransomed  sinners  sing." 

Below  we  give  the  list  of  members  of 

THE    CHOIR. 

E.  J.  Leigh,  Leader.  Mrs.  Rebecca  Randal, 

Wm.  Burch,  Assistant.       Mrs.  Ida  Tatum, 

E.  R.  Butler,  Mrs.  Lucy  A.  Johnson, 


6o  CHURCH     HISTORY. 


John  R.  Hammond,  Mrs.  Sarah  Montague, 

John  H.  Marks,  Mrs.  Sarah  Jones, 

Wyatt  Parham,  Mrs.  Mary  Jones, 

J.  E.  Crowder,  Mrs.  Henrietta  Evans, 

Willie  Nelson,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Mackray, 
Taylor  Pride,                  ,      Miss  Elizabeth  Pretty, 

Peter  Montague,  Miss  Lurenar  Crier, 

Frank  J.  Montague,  Miss  Elinora  Johnson, 

Harac  Harrison,  Miss  F.  V.  Clayton, 

Geo.  W.  Thweat,  Mrs.  Martha  Thomas. 
Layton  Pride. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

OLD  STREET  MISSION  SCHOOL,  MR.  W.  H.  PUGH, 
SUPERINTENDENT. 

This  school  was  established  in  1874,  by  Deacon 
Spencer  Green,  (the  great  Sunday  school  appostle.) 
It  was  located  in  a  portion  of  the  city  where  a  school 
was  very  much  needed,  but  it  made  slow  progress 
as  do  most  missionary  enterprises.  The  seed  of 
religion  and  Christianity  is  not  of  a  hasty  growth, 
but  as  we  have  elsewhere  said,  it  must  have  time  to 
root  itself  deep  into  the  earth,  then  it  will  spring 
up,  bearing  some  fifty  and  some  a  hundred  fold. 
Many  earnest  efforts  have  been  put  forth  to  make 
this  school  a  success,  which  efforts  now  begin  to 
dawn  into  a  bright  and  most  encouraging  prospect. 
In  February  of  the  present  year,  Rev.  A.  B.  Callis,  of 
Baltimore,  Md.,  graduate  of  Wayland  Seminary, 
arrived  in   this  city,  and  commenced  to  labor  with 


CHURCH     HISTORY.  6 1 


this  people.  In  a  short  time  he  had  moved  the 
school  from  Old  street  up  to  the  head  of  High 
street,  where  they  purchased  a  fine  location,  and 
have  commenced  to  build  a  chapel  that  will  seat  up- 
wards of  four  hundred  people.  Rev.  Mr.  Callis  is 
an  intelligent,  working  Christian  gentleman,  and 
under  his  influence  the  Sunday  school  has  greatly 
increased.  We  are  informed  that  they  have  organ- 
ized a  church  from  the  influence  of  this  school,  un- 
der the  leadership  of  Rev.  Mr.  Callis.  He  has 
conducted  a  very  successful  revival  meeting  with 
happy  results,  at  this  point.  We  therefore  conjec- 
ture that  within  a  short  time  another  daughter  of 
the  old  mother  will  lift  her  young  arms  among  the 
tall  steeples  of  Christian  churches  that  now  pierce 
through  the  dense  fog. 

Weary  souls  fresh  courage  take, 

'Tis  but  a  little  while  . 
Before  your  Master,  for  your  sake, 

Will  usher  from  the  sky, 
To  summons  all  his  workers  home, 

To  reap  their  long-sought  rest, 
And  set  with  Him  upon  His  throne, 

With  the  redeemed  and  blest. 

There  hangs  upon  the  golden  gates 

Your  crowns  all  decked  with  stars. 
And  robes,  white  robes,  for  you  awaits, 

And  rest  from  toil  and  cares. 
Then  let  thy  labors  comfort  thee, 

And  push  the  battle  on  ; 
Eternal  life  thy  reward  shall  be, 

For  what  thy  hands  hath  done. 


62  CHURCH     HISTORY, 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

BLANDFORD    MISSION    SCHOOL,     DR.    H.    L.    HARRIS, 

SUPERINTENDENT. 

This  school  was  established  in  1874,  by  Deacon 
Spencer  Green,  but  made  slow  progress  until  1884, 
when  Dr.  H.  L.  Harris  was  appointed  superinten- 
dent, from  which  period  the  school  has  been  on  a 
grand  progress.  She  now  numbers  200  pupils  and 
10  teachers.  She  has  purchased  a  beautiful  lot  and 
built  a  very  comfortable  house,  and  nearly  all  she 
does  is  on  a  cash  basis.  The  house  is  now  ready  for 
plastering,  and  we  are  informed  that  it  will  soon  be 
plastered,  which  will  make  it  a  neat  and  lovely 
little  edifice  27  by  42  feet.  It  is  built  with  a  two-fold 
view  and  answers  well  two  purposes,  viz.,  one  for 
the  Sunday  school  and  the  other  for  preaching.  This 
building  is  located  in  a  portion  of  the  city  where  a 
great  many  members  of  both  Harrison  Street  or 
First  Baptist  and  Gilfield  Churches  live,  and  not  a 
few  in  number  are  unable  to  reach  their  churches 
often ;  they  therefore  attend  preaching  here  and  have 
their  spiritual  strength  renewed  ;  besides  it  answers 
many  inconveniences  for  funeral  services.  Parties 
who  cannot  reach  the  church  with  their  relatives, 
have  their  funerals  preached  at  this  house.  The 
Blandford  Mission  is  of  great  importance  to  more 
than  a  few  members  of  the  several  churches  of  the 
city.  This  school  has  a  fine  corps  of  teachers 
whose  whole  hearts  seem  to  be  in  the  Sunday 
school    work.     They  use    the    International    lesson 


CHURCH     HISTORY.  6$ 


papers,  which  are  of  the  greatest  advantage  to  Sun- 
day schools.  Their  Sunday  school,  although  young 
and  small,  is  conducted  on  the  most  improved 
methods,  and  is  attended  with  much  interest  by  the 
best  people  of  this  portion  of  the  city.  This  little 
mission  school  is  doing  a  great  work  in  the  further- 
ance of  the  cause  of  Christ,  and  should  receive  the 
hearty  applause  of  all  the  churches  of  the  city.  It 
is  destined  to  be  the  means  of  reclaiming  many  way- 
ward children  who  otherwise  would  wander  far  off 
on  the  mountain  of  sin.  We  bid  her  God  speed  in 
her  glorious  work. 

Toil  on,  ye  soldiers  of  the  cross, 

Your  reward  comes  sure  and  soon  ; 
Rescue  the  wandering  children  lost, 

Reclaim  the  fallen  ones. 

God  watches  all  your  efforts  here, 

And  sums  up  all  you  do ; 
Records  each  cross  for  Him  you  bear, 

Each  sinner  you  rescue. 

He  knows  what  all  your  efforts  are, 

Each  word  for  Him  you  say ; 
He  for  each  song,  each  tear,  each  prayer, 

Has  promised  richest  pay. 

In  that  fair  land  of  corn  and  wine 

Your  souls  shall  find  sweet  rest ; 
Your  crown  with  many  stars  shall  shine, 

Your  souls  forever  blest. 

Then  gird  the  glorious  armour  on, 

Consecrate  your  heart,  your  mind, 
To  saving  Adam-fallen  sons, 

Their  Saviour  help  them  find. 

No  pen  portrays  the  happy  scene, 

When  God  shall  call  you  home, 
And  on  that  plain,  forever  green, 

Your  happy  souls  will  roam. 


64  CHURCH     HISTORY. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

MISSIONARY    WORK. 

This  church  has  a  foreign  missionary  society,  Mr. 
Wm.  J.  Mitchel,  Pres't,  W.  H.  Majors  Sec,  which  is 
doing  a  good  work  in  the  missionary  cause.  The  ac- 
tual money  raised  and  expended  by  this  body  is  not 
known  to  us,  but  we  conjecture  that  it  has,  and  is  still 
raising  funds  to  help  carry  the  gospel  to  the  heathen 
across  the  ocen,  who  bow  down  to  wood  and  stone. 
This  is  one  of  the  prime  points  in  the  history  of  the 
Misssionary  Baptist  Denomination,  and  it  is  so  called 
for  its  great  missionary  spirit,  and  as  long  as  there 
remains  a  soul  in  darkness,  this  spark  of  religious 
philanthropy  will  burn  in  the  souls  of  true  Baptists. 

"Waft,  waft,  ye  winds  the  story, 

And  you,  ye  waters  roll ; 
Till  like  a  sea  of  glory, 

It  spreads  from  pole  to  pole. 

Till  o'er  our  ransomed  nature. 

The  lamb  for  sinners  slain ; 
Redeemer,  King,  Creator, 

In  bliss  returns  to  reign," 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

CLUBS    AND    AMOUNTS    RAISED    BY    THEM. 

Below  we  give  a  list  of  those  who  headed  clubs 
and  worked.  And  the  amounts  opposite  their  names 
is  what  each  club  raised,  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
personal  donations   and  organizations.     Each  giver 


CHURCH     HISTORY.  65 

is  represented  through  the  head  of  his  club,  and 
when  he  sees  the  amount  opposite  his  leaders' 
name  he  may  regard  it  as  the  part  he  contributed 
or  aided  in  raising.  It  would  be  a  source  of  pleas- 
ure to  us  if  we  could  note  each  individual  giver, 
but  neither  space  or  accuracy  will  permit.  Should 
we  fail  to  do  justice  to  any  of  our  cheerful  givers 
or  earnest  workers,  we  assure  them  that  it  is  not  in- 
tentionally done,  and  is  an  error  of  the  hand  and 
not  of  the  heart.  While  each  earnest  worker  will 
find  opposite  his  or  her  name  the  amount  raised  by 
him  or  her,  and  for  which  they  have  the  honor,  yet 
those  who  gave  to  them  share  that  honor  though 
their  names  do  not  appear  in  print.  Meantime, 
those  who  did  nothing  cannot  expect  any  honor, 
and  indeed,  they  deserve  none.  In  heaven  alone  will 
the  earnest  worker  be  duly  rewarded  for  his  labors. 
There  every  figure  is  correct  and  stands  at  its  full 
value. 

Mary  Thompson, $23  27 

Lucy  A.  Fisher, 625 

S.  Watkins, 6  30 

Pinky  Jones, 5   60 

Eliza  Brady, 5   50 

Virginia  A.  Lanier  and  Mary  J.  Butts,  .  31  10 
G.  A.  Watkins  and  H.  Harrison,  ...  12  50 
Virginia  Moore  and  Rosa  Coleman,  .    .       415 

Katie  Butts, 30  36 

Eliza  James, 23  50 

Thomas  Hamlin, 6  00 

The  Sabbath  school,  . 50  00 


66  CHURCH     HISTORY. 


Young    Men's    Christian    Association, 

No.  i,  S.   Watkins,  president,       .    .  14  50 
Young    Men's     Christian    Association, 

No.  2,.  .    .    .        10  00 

Rebecca  Randolph, 22   50 

Sisters  Harris  and   Butts, 25  54 

Martha  Johnson,  .    . 1660 

Nancy  Mings, 7  05 

Sisters  Jackson  and  Davis, 7   60 

Sisters   Epps  and  Christian, 4  00 

Rosa  Archer, 6  00 

Tent   Sisters,    through    Sister  Virginia 

Wilkins, 37  36 

Deacon  Spencer  Green, 116  45 

Richard   Cosby, 95  82 

Armistead  Green,.  . 239  23 

R.  H.  Cooley, 38  88 

H.  Matthews, 24  55 

Mary  Jane  Bates, 66  66 

J.  G.  Harris, 62   31 

Francis  Taylor, 71   05 

Amanda  Brown, 71   05 

Lucy  Coleman, 25   72 

Mary  D.  Green, 8  50 

Hattie  White, 3  69 

Isabella  Robertson, .  4  82 

E.  J.  Wilson, 8  50 

Emma  J.  King, 9  45 

Ella  Davis, 8  65 

Ellen  Jackson, 14  70 

E.  Jackson   and  sisters, 15  00 


CHURCH     HISTORY.  6"] 


Sarah  Garrett, 31    15 

Charles  Johnson, 2781 

Rebecca  Lewis, 7°  73 

Sarah  Davis, 30  00 


CHAPTER  XX. 

elder  Gordon's  club. 

We  give  below  a  list  of  those  who  subscribed  to 
Elder  Gordon's  list.  This  list  is  composed  chiefly 
of  such  parties  as  were  members  of  other  clubs  of 
workers,  and  this  shows  double  effort  on  their 
part.  Some  of  them  headed  other  clubs  and  yet 
subscribed  and  paid  to  Elder  Gordon's  club.  What 
working  members  !  The  energy  of  these  members 
is  not  surpassed  in  history.  This  list  was  not  in- 
tended to  be  put  in  print,  but  it  chanced  to  fall  into 
the  hands  of  the  writer,  and  as  a  matter  of  justice 
to  the  faithful  workers,  we  decided  to  publish  it. 
We  have  endeavored  to  give  each  subscriber  due 
credit  for  his  effort  to  complete  the  temple  of  the 
Lord.  Should  any  mistake  occur,  we  most  sincere- 
ly regret  it. 

C.  B.  W.  Gordon, $5  00  Mornin  Bolden,  ......  3  00 

Alfred  Foster, 3  00  Fannie  Smith,  .......  1  00 

Jessie  White, 2  00  Ephriam  Fisher, 3  00 

Emma  Chavers,  .......  1  00  R.   C.    Bradley, 2  00 

David   Epps  and  Wife,  ...  3  00  Sophia  Watson, 1  00 

Mary  Epps, 3  00  Mary  Watson, 3  00 

Sarah    Epps, 3  00  J.  H.  Parham,  .......  3  00 

Maria  Swans, 3  00  Ann  Jackson, 1  00 


68 


CHURCH     HISTORY. 


W.  J.    Smith, .  4  00 

J.  W.    Smith, 2  00 

Mary  Mabry, 1  00 

William  Brown, 1  00 

Chester  Swans, 1  00 

Sarah  Valentine, 3  00 

Maria  Clifton,  .......  2  00 

Luanda  Bates, 1  00 

Susan    Montague, 1  00 

Diamond   Elliott, 1  00 

William  E.  Carter, 2  50 

Thomas    Miles, 3  00 

J.    P.   Fisher, 1  00 

Sarah  Vaughan, 1  50 

Louisa  Green, 1  00 

Robert   Tucker, 1  00 

S.  Jones, 1  00 

H.   Leigh, 1  00 

M.   Leigh, 2  00 

Ella  Harris, 2  00 

Violet   Miles, 2  00 

William  Harris, 1  00 

Mary   Robertson, 1  00 

James   Thweat, 1  00 

H.  Matthews, •    •  2  00 

Thomas  Randolph 1  00 

Lucy  Jones, 2  75 

Anna  F.  Parker, 2  00 

Amanda  Taylor, 3  00 

Mary    Harris, 1   00 

Rosa    Brown, 1  00 

J.  T.  Coleman, 2  00 

Agnes  Harrison, 1  00 

John  Miles, 1  00 

Abraham  Pankins, 2  00 

Amos   Jones, 1  00 

Susan  Purdy, 2  00 

Ida   Lewis, 2  00 

Lucy    Lewis, 1  00 

R.  F.  Taylor, 2  00 

Laura  Taylor, 2  00 

Peter    Harris, 1  00 

W.  F.  Mason, 2  00 


Jane    Gaines,   .......  1  00 

Phillis    Wright, 1  00 

C.    Hill, 1  00 

Willie  Knox, 1  00 

Rosa   Harrison, 1  00 

M.  J.  Leigh 1  00 

Lewis   Robertson, 2  50 

Abram  Banks, 1  00 

George   Vaughan, 4  00 

Francis    Pryor, 1   00 

Isham    Pryor, 1  00 

Henry  Fox, 2  00 

Rebecca    Randolph,    ....  2  00 

Thomas  Freeman 2  00 

L.   E.    Jones, 2  25 

Reuben  Randolph, 1  00 

Walter   John,  ..-•-..  1  00 

Bettie  Cooley, 1  00 

J.  A.  Parham, 1  50 

C.  Smith .  1  00 

J.   W.    Cruse 1  00 

Samuel  Parham, 1  00 

Frank    Montague, 2  50 

W.  J.  Scott, 1  00 

Mary   Gardiner, 1  00 

G.  T.  Bradley, 1  00 

W.  H.  Major, 1  00 

Mary  J.  Green, 2  00 

A.    M.  Roberson, 1  00 

Cora  Puter, 1  00 

Henry  Jones, 1  00 

Mary  Brown, 1  00 

John   Gholston 4  00 

William    Allison, 1  00 

Josephine  Short, 1  00 

Louisa  Pryor, 1  00 

L.  Cary, 1  00 

M.  J.  Charity, 1  00 

Virginia  Davis, 1   50 

Allen    Robertson, 1  00 

John    Brown, 1   00 

John  Short, 2  00 

Nancy   Henrett, 1  00 


CHURCH     HISTORY. 


69 


Jennie   Coleman, 1   00 

G.   W.    Threatt, 1   00 

Eliza    Jones 3  00 

Lucy    Parham, 1  00 

R.  Henley, 1  00 

Mary  Fowler 2  00 

Rachel  Parker 2  00 

Dollie    Turner,    ......  1  00 

Taron  Todd, 1  00 

J.  A.   Garret 2  00 

Wm.   A.    Morn, 1  00 

Vinnie  Auters, 3  00 

Kate  Robinson,  ...        •    ■  1  00 

Catherine  Anderson,  ....  1  00 

Lucy   Coleman, 2  00 

Sarah   Carrington, 2  00 

W.  A.  Jones, 1  00 

J.   Y.    Harris, 4  00 

Bettie  Jones, 1  00 

Ann    Hatchett, 2  00 

Julia  Mason 2  00 

Mary   Roper, 1  00 

Victoria  A.   Hennis,  ....  2  00 

Ann    Bell, 2  00 

Louisa  Smith, 2  00 

Robert   Owens, 1  00 

Rosa    Bannon, 1  00 

Lucy  Jackson, 2  00 

\V.  A.   Penn, 1  00 

Emma  J.  King 1  00 

Nancy  Minge, 2  00 

Ann  Miles, 1  00 

James    Parham,    ......  1  00 

Susan    Parham, 1  00 

A.   Parker, 2  00 

Jane  Garner, 1  00 

J.    Cross, 3  00 

Peter    G.    Scott, 4  00 

Lewis  Green, 1  00 

J.   Bass, 1  00 

R.    Bass, 1  00 

Carline  Woodly, 4  00 

Elizabeth    Mason, 1  00 


L.  Jenkins, .  1  00 

Emma  Bonner, 1   00 

Henry    May, 1   50 

S.    Bass,   .    .    .' 1  00 

Bettie  Lacy, 1  00 

John  Parham, 2  00 

Wm.  Thomas, 2  00 

Ida  Marshall, 1  00 

Harriet    Peet 1  00 

Carolina  Burgess, 1  00 

Lucy  A.  Brown 1   00 

Antinett   Mallory, 5  00 

William  Mason, 1   00 

E.   Banks, '.    .  1  00 

ChristiaMoss 1  00 

Clover  Gilliam, 1  00 

L.  A.  Harris 1  00 

Louisa  Crier, 1  00 

C.  L.  Todd, 1  00 

Emeline  Brown, 1  00 

Oscar  Zilks, 4  00 

George  Matthews, 2  00 

Polly    Green, 1  00 

Spencer   Green, 2  00 

Charles   Green, 1  00 

Julia  Fields, 2  50 

Charlotte  Fields,.   .....  1  00 

Isham  Watkins, 1  00 

G.  W.    King, 4  00 

Catherine    Leigh, 1   50 

Sarah  Cole, 2  00 

John  Moss, 1  00 

C.    Gilbert, 1  00 

Laura  Harris, 1  00 

Mary  Height, 1  00 

Lizzie  Jones, 1  00 

Dora  Burgess, 1  00 

H.    J.   Smith, 1  00 

Edward    Allison,    ....  1  00 

Eliza    Braxton, 1  00 

Nora  Bannon, 1  00 

Arthur  Carter, 2  00 

Malinda    Bolden, 1  00 


JO 


CHURCH     HISTORY. 


T.  Gilliam, 1  00 

Irvin    Hatchett, 2  00 

Harriet    Young, 2  00 

Emily  Blackerson, 2  25 

Thomas    Warner, 1  00 

Eliza    Lewis, 2  00 

Wm.   Melkins 1   00 

Jane  Lawrence, 1  00 

Julia    Bench, 1   50 

Amanda  Brown, 2  00 

Fannie  Fulks, 1  00 

Rosa  Harrison, 1  00 

Wm.  Allen, 1  00 

Andrew  Davis, 1  00 

Mrs.  Andrew  Davis,  ....  1  00 

Wm.    Davis,   .■  -. 2  00 

Thomas    Randall 2  00 

Lucy  J.  Todd, 2  00 

Sarah    Bland, 2  00 

Louisa  Cryor, 1   00 

Mary  Gordon, 1  00 

W.  A.  Grigg, 1  00 

Ann  Robertson, 1  00 

Henry    Grover, 1  00 


John    Anderson,  ......  1  00 

Catherine  Hooper, 2  00 

Louisa   Love, 1  25 

Dilsia  A.    Brown, 1  00 

Arthur  Carter, 1  00 

David    Powell, 1  00 

R.C.Bradley 2  00 

Lucy  Scott, 1  00 

Katie    Pettiford 2  00 

Julia    Harrison, 1  00 

Lucy  Holmes, 1   00 

W.  H.  Jones, 1  00 

Mary    Pinkins, 1  00 

Dollie  A.  Willis 1  00 

J.    Bonner, 1   00 

F.  Morgan, 1  00 

Pattie   Warden, 1  00 

J.  Y.   Harris, 4  00 

Ellen  Harris, 2  00 

H.   J.    Smith, 1  00 

John  J.  Morgan,  ......  5  00 

Violet    Miles, 1  00 

Sarah   Randall, 1  10 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  FIRST  BAPTIST  CHURCH, 


ARTICLE    I. 


Section  i .  We  adopt  the  Bible  with  reverence 
and  thankfulness,  believe  all  that  it  teaches,  and 
obey  all  its  commands.  John-5,  39;  Romans-15,  4; 
Hebrews-2,  1  and  25. 

We  adopt  the  Bible  as  our  faith,  rule  and  practice 
for  the  government  of  this  church. 


CHURCH     HISTORY.  7 1 


ARTICLE    II. 

Section  i.  The  government  of  this  church  shall 
be  by  the  male  members,  fifteen  of  which  shall  con- 
stitute a  quorum  for  the  transaction  of  business. 

Section  2.  We  agree  to  have  our  regular  church 
meetings  for  the  transaction  of  business  the  2nd  and 
4th  Monday  in  each  month,  and  at  such  meetings 
there  shall  be  a  Moderator  and  Clerk. 

Section  3.  The  duty  of  the  moderator  is  to  direct 
the  general  proceedings,  so  as  to  secure  the  object 
contemplated. 

Section  4.  When  the  Moderator  has  taken  his 
seat  silence  shall  prevail.  He  shall  state  all  mo- 
tions and  put  them  to  a  vote  and  announce  the  re- 
sult. 

Section  5.  The  Moderator  shall  decide  all  points 
of  order,  and  in  case  of  a  tie  he  shall  have  the  cast- 
ing vote. 

Section  6.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Clerk  to 
make  and  keep  a  fair  record  of  the  proceedings  of 
each  meeting  from  time  to  time,  and  furnish  any  in- 
formation the  records  contain,  and  shall  have  charge 
of  all  papers  and  documents  belonging  to  the  church. 

ARTICLE    III. 

Section  1.  Any  person  professing  faith  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  giving  evidence  of  a  change  of 
heart,  and  adopting  the  views  of  faith  and  practice 
held  by  this  church,  as  set  forth  in  the  foregoing 
declaration,  may,  upon  being  Baptized,  be  received 
into  its  membership. 


72  CHURCH     HISTORY. 


Section  2.  Members  from  other  churches  hold- 
ing the  same  faith  may  be  received  by  letters  of 
recommendation  or  dismissal  from  their  respective 
churches. 

Section  3.  Those  who  have  once  been  members 
of  Baptist  churches,  and  in  consequence  of  Pecu- 
liar circumstances  have  no  letter  of  dismissal,  may 
be  received  by  giving  satisfactory  evidence  of  a 
change  of  heart,  Christian  conduct  and  scriptural 
faith. 

Section  4.  Persons  excluded  may  be  restored 
to  membership  on  confession  of  their  error  and 
giving  evidence  of  repentance. 

ARTICLE    IV. 

Section  1 .  The  duties  of  members  to  themselves 
are,  the  acquisition  of  religious  knowledge  and  con- 
stant progress  in  grace.  It  is  their  duty  to  honor, 
esteem  and  love  their  pastor,  to  pray  for  him  fer- 
vently, and  daily  to  manifest  a  tender  regard  for  his 
reputation,  and  contribute  towards  his  support  as 
God  has  blessed  each  with  means. 

Section  2.  The  ordination  of  Deacons  shall  be 
preceded  by  one  year's  trial ;  they  shall  continue  in 
office  as  long  as  satisfaction  shall  be  given. 

Section  3.  The  Treasurer,  Clerk  and  Sexton 
shall,  on  the  second  Monday  in  January,  be  annual- 
ly elected  by  a  majority  of  the  male  members  pres- 
ent, composing  the  stated  meetings. 

Section  4.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Treasurer 
to  receive  all  moneys  and  pay  all  orders  drawn  on 


CHURCH     HISTORY.  73 


him  by  the  deacons  of  the  church,  when  signed  by 
the  Clerk.  He  shall  keep  a  fair  book  of  accounts, 
and  annually,  at  the  said  meetings  in  January,  shall 
lay  before  the  church  a  statement  of  all  moneys  re- 
ceived and  paid  out. 

Section  5.  The  number  of  ordained  deacons 
shall  not  exceed  seven,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  see 
to  the  wants  of  the  pastor,  the  sick  and  poor  of  the 
church  and  assist  in  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's 
Supper. 

ARTICLE    V. 

Section  1.  The  pastor  of  the  church  (or  in  his 
absence  any  brother  the  church  may  appoint)  shall 
act  as  Moderator  in  all  meetings  for  the  transaction 
of  business,  and  he  shall  cause  all  meetings  to  be 
opened  with  prayer  and  closed  with  the  benediction. 

Section  2.  He  shall  call  for  the  business  of  the 
church  in  the  following  manner :  1  st.  Read  the 
minutes  of  the  previous  meeting.  2nd.  Hear  the 
experience  of  candidates  for  membership.  3rd. 
Receive  letters  of  dismission  from  sister  churches. 
4th.  Grant  letters  of  dismission  to  those  requesting 
them,  and  satisfy  the  church  why  they  want  them. 
5th.  Hear  the  reports  of  committees  and  other  un- 
finished business.     6th.  New  business. 

Section  3.  He  shall  suffer  no  seconded  motion  to 
be  entertained  until  the  one  under  consideration  has 
been  disposed  of,  except  to  amend,  postpone,  ad- 
journ or  put  the  main  question. 

Section  4.     He  shall  call  to  order  any  brother  or 


74  CHURCH     HISTORY. 


member  who,  while  speaking,  introduces  a  subject 
foreign  to  the  one  under  discussion. 

Section  5.  He  shall  call  to  order  any  brother  or 
member  who  uses  discourteous  language,  and  the 
member  failing  to  obey  shall  be  dealt  with  as  a  dis- 
orderly member. 

Section  6.  Any  member  who  wishes  to  speak 
shall  rise  from  his  seat  and  respectfully  address  the 
Moderator,  and  shall  not  speak  more  than  twice  nor 
longer  than  five  minutes  on  the  same  subject,  with- 
out the  express  consent  of  the  church. 

Section  7.  Any  member  disturbing  a  brother 
while  speaking,  unless  he  depart  from  the  subject 
under  debate,  shall  be  silenced  during  the  meeting. 

Section  8.  Any  member  who,  being  guilty  of 
disorderly  conduct,  shall  be  called  before  the  church 
at  the  next  regular  meeting  to  answer  the  charge 
of  being  disorderly. 

ARTICLE    VI. 

Section  1.  The  pastor  shall  be  a  member  of  the 
church. 

ARTICLE    VII. 

Section  1 .  The  church  shall  celebrate  the  Lord's 
Supper  the  Third  Sunday  in  each  and  every  month, 
unless  circumstances  dictate  otherwise. 

Section  2.  No  funerals,  no  marriages,  no  bap- 
tizing, shall  be  allowed  in  the  church  without  the 
consent,  the  permission  or  knowledge  of  the  pas- 
tor. 

Section  3.     All  conversation  and  loud  talking  are 


CHURCH     HISTORY.  75 


hereby  strictly  forbidden  when  doing  business,  by  any 
person  or  persons.  Persons  persisting,  after  being 
called  to  order  by  the  Moderator,  shall  be  silenced 
during  the  meeting. 

Section  4.  Any  person  failing  to  attend  divine 
service  for  three  consecutive  Sabbaths,  will  be  dealt 
with  as  a  disorderly  member,  unless  sick  or  out  of 
the  city;  and  if  a  member  having  knowledge  of  an- 
other so  living,  and  fail  to  report  it  to  the  church, 
he  will  be  dealt  with  as  a  disorderly  member. 

Section  5.  Any  person  proven  to  be  guilty  of 
slandering  the  pastor  or  his  family,  or  injuring  his 
reputation  in  any  way,  shall  be  dealt  with  as  a  dis- 
orderly member. 

ARTICLE    VIII. 

Section  1.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  deacons  to 
make  provision  for  seating  strangers  and  the  con- 
gregation on  the  Sabbath. 

ARTICLE    IX. 

Section  1.  All  the  deacons  are  requested  to 
serve  on  communion,  unless  out  of  the  city  or  con- 
fined by  sickness. 

ARTICLE    X. 

"Moreover,  if  thy  brother  shall  trespass  against 
thee,  go  and  tell  him  his  fault  between  thee  and  him 
alone ;  if  he  shall  hear  thee,  thou  hast  gained  thy 
brother." — St.  Matthew  18,  15. 


J  6  CHURCH     HISTORY. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

ARTICLES    OF    FAITH. 

Article  I,  of  the  Scriptures :  We  believe  that  the 
Holy  Bible  was  written  by  men  divinely  inspired, 
and  is  a  perfect  treasure  of  Heavenly  instruction  ; 
that  it  has  God  for  its  author,  salvation  for  its  end, 
and  truth  without  any  mixture  of  error  for  its  mat- 
ter. 

Article  2,  of  the  True  God :  We  believe  that 
there  is  one,  and  only  one,  true  and  living  God, 
whose  name  is  Jehovah. 

Article  j,  of  the  Fall  of  Man :  We  believe  that 
man  was  created  in  a  state  of  holiness  and  happi- 
ness under  the  law  of  his  Maker. 

Article  4,  the  Way  of  Salvation :  We  believe  that 
the  salvation  of  sinners  is  wholly  of  grace,  through 
the  mediatorial  offices  of  the  Son  of  God. 

Article  5,  Justification:  We  believe  the  scrip- 
tures teach  that  the  great  gospel  blessing  which 
Christ  secures  to  such  as  believe  in  him,  is  justifica- 
tion. 

Article  6,  the  Freeness  of  Salvation :  We  believe 
the  scriptures  teach  that  the  blessings  of  salvation 
are  made  free  to  all  by  the  gospel. 

Article  7,  Regeneration :  We  believe  the  scrip- 
tures teach  that  in  order  to  be  saved  sinners  must 
be  regenerated  or  born  again. 

Article  8,  Repentance  and  Faith :  We  believe 
that  the  scriptures  teach  that  repentance  and  faith 
are  sacred  duties. 


CHURCH     HISTORY.  JJ 


Article  p,  God's  Purpose  of  Grace :  We  believe 
the  scriptures  teach  that  election  is  the  eternal  per- 
pose  of  God. 

Article  zo,  Sanctijication :  We  believe  the  scrip- 
tures teach  that  Sanctification  is  the  process  by 
which,  according  to  the  will  of  God,  we  are  made 
partakers  of  His  holiness — that  it  is  a  progressive 
work — that  it  is  begun  in  regeneration. 

Ai'ticle  ii,  Perseverance  of  Saints :  We  believe 
the  scriptures  teach  that  such  only  are  real  believers 
as  endure  to  the  end. 

Ai'ticle  12,  the  Law  and  Gospel :  We  believe  the 
scriptures  teach  that  the  law  of  God  is  the  eternal 
and  unchangeable  rule  of  His  moral  government. 

Article  ij,  a  Gospel  Church :  We  believe  the 
scriptures  teach  that  a  visible  church  of  Christ  is  a 
congregation  of  baptized  believers,  associated  by 
covenant  in  the  faith  and  fellowship  of  the  gospel- 

Article  14.  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper :  We 
believe  the  scriptures  teach  that  Christian  Baptism 
is  the  immersion  in  water  of  a  believer,  and  it  is 
his  duty  to  observe  the  ordinance  of  the  Lord's 
Supper. 

Article  75,  the  Christian  Sabbath :  We  believe 
the  scriptures  teach  that  the  first  day  of  the  week 
is  the  Lord's  Day,  or  Christian  Sabbath,  and  it  is  to 
be  kept  sacred  to  religious  purposes. 

Article  /6,  Civil  Government :  We  believe  the 
scriptures  teach  that  civil  government  is  of  divine 
appointment. 

Article  17,  Righteous  and  the  Wicked :     We  be- 


j8  CHURCH     HISTORY. 


lieve  the  scriptures  teach  that  there  is  a  radical  and 
essential  difference  between  the  righteous  and  the 
wicked. 

Article  i8,  the  World  to  Come :  We  beliewe  the 
scriptures  teach  that  the  end  of  the  world  is  ap- 
proaching ;  that  at  the  last  day  Christ  will  descend 
from  Heaven,  and  raise  the  dead  from  the  grave  for 
final  retribution. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

COVENANT. 

As  we  trust  we  have  received,  through  Divine 
Grace,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  given  ourselves 
wholly  to  Him,  and  on  profession  of  our  faith  been 
buried  with  Him  in  Baptism,  and  united  to  His 
church,  a  precious  privilege  as  well  as  duty,  we  do 
now  solemnly  and  joyfully  covenant  with  each  other, 
and  by  the  aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  engage  that  we 
will  walk  together  in  brotherly  love,  exercise  a 
Christian  care  and  watchfulness  over  each  other, 
participate  in  each  other's  joys,  and  with  tender 
sympathy  bear  one  another's  burdens  and  sorrows. 
That  we  will  not  forsake  the  assembling  of  our- 
selves together,  but  seek  and  pray  for  the  spiritual- 
ity, harmony  and  prosperity  of  the  church — sustain 
its  worship  ordinances,  discipline  and  doctrines,  and 
give  its  claims  a  sacred  pre-eminence  over  all  or- 
ganizations of  human  origin  ;  that  we  will  cheerfully 
contribute  of  our  means  as  God  has  prospered  us 
for  the   support  of  a    faithful    evangelical    ministry 


CHURCH     HISTORY.  79 


among  us,  for  the  relief  of  the  poor  and  to  speed 
the  gospel  over  the  earth. 

That  we  will  maintain  private  and  family  devo- 
tions, religiously  educate  our  children,  and  endeav- 
or, in  purity  of  heart  and  newness  of  life  and  good 
will  toward  all  men,  to  exemplify  and  commend  our 
holy  faith,  win  souls  to  the  Saviour,  and  hold  fast 
our  profession  till  he  shall  come  and  receive  us  to 
Himself  in  the  Heavenly  mansions. 

[Relying  on  the  grace  of  God,  do  you  thus  cove- 
nant and  promise  ?] 

And  now,  the  God  of  peace,  who  brought  again 
from  the  dead  our  Lord  Jesus,  that  Great  Shepherd 
of  the  Sheep,  through  the  blood  of  the  everlasting 
covenant,  make  us  perfect  in  every  good  work  to 
do  His  will,  working  in  us  that  which  is  well  pleasing 
in  His  sight,  through  Jesus  Christ,  to  whom  be  the 
glory  for  ever  and  ever.     Amen. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

CHURCH    OFFICERS. 

Board  of  Deacons. 
Spencer  Green,  Armistead  Green, 

Richard  Cosby,  Robt.  .  H.  Cooley, 

Joseph  Cross,  H.  Matthews. 

Clerk, 
D.  J.  Butts. 

Assistant  Clerk, 


8o  CHURCH     HISTORY. 


J.  M.  Myers. 

Second  Assistant  Clerk, 
W.  H.  Major. 

Incidental  Treasurer, 
Spencer  Green. 

Poor  St.  Treasurer, 
H.  Matthews. 

Building  Treasurer, 
Armistead  Green. 

Missionary  Treasurer, 
Richard  Cosby. 

Rev.  C.  B.  W.  Gordon,  Pastor. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

poem  dedicated  to  the  church,  by  rev.  \v.  h. 
sherwood. 

Thou  mother  of  mothers,  thou  Christian  tree, 

From  whose  sacred  covers  and  blessed  family 

A  nation  of  God's  worshippers  is  born, 

And  all  over  this  vast  continent  have  gone 

Spreading  their  rich  fruits  of  Christianity, 

Proclaiming  God's  word  and  bringing  men  from  vainity, 

And  pointing  them  to  the  throne. 

Firm  as  the  hills  thy  walls  shall  stand 

Till  rolling  years  the  final  day  demand. 

Archangel's  trump  sounding  wake  the  dead, 

Then  crossing  the  river  with  a  young  leader  at  your  head, 

You  will  enter  fair  Canaan's  land, 

And  join  the  disembodied  heavenly  host, 

Sing  praise  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost. 


CHURCH     HISTORY. 


Thou  hast  given  to  many  churches  a  preacher, 
To  many  pulpits  a  Spurgeon  and  a  Beecher ; 
Thou  hast  given  to  every  trade  and  vocation 
An  honest,  upright,  unfaltering  Christian, 
And  you  still  send  forth  all  over  the  globe 
Strong-hearted  men  and  workers  for  God. 

Old,  yet  young,  thou  art  mother, 

Thy  locks  are  gray,  yet  thou  art  a  child, 

Thy  father  christeneth  thee  his  babe,  his  lover ; 

Chasteneth  with  his  rod  and  rewardeth  with  his  smiles. 

Mother,  thou  art  strong — thy  strength  is  of  the  Lord, 

None  can  make  thee  weak,  thou  hast  the  word ; 

Long  live  thy  name,  long  stand  thy  walls, 

Your  children,  your  pastor,  your  deacons  and  all, 

Live  happy,  live  joyous,  and  ever  live  near 

To  thy  father's  commandment  till  the  bridegroom  appears. 

Push  the  battle  for  Zion  to  the  heavenly  gates, 

Where  Christ  and  his  angels  are  standing  in  wait. 

Some  of  thy  loved  ones  have  gone,  mother, 

To  that  world  of  spirits,  perfected  love, 

And  are  waiting  and  watching  at  the  gate,  mother, 

And  they  beckon  you  from  the  home  above. 

Many  a  bright  soldier  from  your  camp  stand, 

All  robed  and  crowned  amidst  that  band ; 

They  whisper  to  thee  and  bid  thee  to  come, 

But  you  cannot  go  till  your  work  is  done. 

When  your  Chief  Captain  shall  say  to  his  own, 
Thy  labors  have  ended,  thy  race  has  been  won, 
Thy  name  is  called  and  thou  must  respond, 
The  ship  is  now  ready  to  carry  thee  home. 
Sweet  day,  happy  hour,  why  tarry  so  long  ? 
Our  pilgrims  are  eager  to  join  in  the  song — 
Of  Moses  and  the  Lamb  with  the  angelic  throng. 

Make  hast !  oh,  morning,  dawn  on  us,  oh,  day  ! 
We  long  for  the  trumpet  to  call  us  away, 
When  every  church  militant  at  Jordan  shall  meet, 
And  all  Zion  travelers  each  other  shall  greet, 
And  hail  at  the  portals  of  that  blessed  world, 
With  the  flag  of  salvation  and  banners  unfurled. 


CHURCH     HISTORY. 


Hail,  happy  throng,  hail,  happy  day, 
Before  whose  majesty  the  earth  flees  away  ; 
What  rapture,  what  joy  the  meeting  will  be, 
When  from  all  creation  the  gathering  we  see, 
Some  happy,  some  sorry,  some  sink  to  despair, 
Who  can  tell  the  wonders  that  flash  on  us  there  ? 
What  grand  associations  the  pilgrims  will  form 
With  all  other  pilgrims  before  them  that's  gone, 
With  singing  and  shouting  in  splendor  they  go, 
To  rest  from  their  toils  and  cares  evermore. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

DEDICATED    TO    DEACON    SPENCER    GREEN,    BY    REV. 
W.    H.    SHERWOOD. 

When  yon  sun  ceases  to  course  his  way, 

Yon  moon  her  changes  stop, 
When  all  the  stars  with  glittering  rays, 

From  every  planet  drop, 

Thy  sun  shall  have  begun  to  rise 

Beyond  this  world  of  ours, 
To  ra-di-ate  a  brighter  sky, 

Where  clouds  will  never  lower. 

Thy  sun  will  rise  to  set  no  more, 

Through  endless  ages  roll, 
Your  moon  no  weary  changes  know, 

No  fading  colors  hold. 

Thy  element  will  have  a  gem, 

Which  to  its  lustre  bright 
Each  star  is  but  an  obit  dim, 

And  noonday  is  but  night. 

A  few  more  storms  must  shake  thy  tree, 

A  few  more  rains  must  beat, 
A  few  more  sighs  and  bends  of  knee, 

A  few  more  combats  meet, 

And  you  shall  go  where  storms  arc  not, 

Where  rains  do  not  descend, 
Where  sighing  do  not  reach  the  spot, 

And  pleasure  has  no  end. 


CHURCH     HISTORY. 


A  few  more  travels  to  and  fro, 
And  wandering  children  seek, 

A  few  more  rounds  of  labor  go 
To  comfort  those  who  weep. 

And  your  blest  feet  will  find  a  rest 

Beyond  the  hills  of  time, 
While  on  your  father's  peaceful  breast 

Your  weary  head  reclines. 

Although  with  age  your  frame  decays, 

As  you  grow  old  in  years, 
Mark  after  mark  upon  thee  lays, 

Of  earnest  toil  and  cares. 

On  yon  clear  river  stands  a  tree 
Whose  leaves  all  nations  heal ; 

Thy  soul  from  every  snare  set  free, 
Will  youthful  vigor  feel. 

Upon  it  grows  eternal  life 

For  such  as  overcome ; 
There  sickness,  sorrow,  pain  and  strife 

And  conflicts  are  unknown. 

From  that  celestial  world  of  joy, 
You'll  view  those  hills  you've  trod, 

And  see  the  thousand  girls  and  boys, 
That  you  have  brought  to  God. 

Oh !  rapturous  scene,  oh  !  richest  sight, 

To  view  that  happy  band, 
All  clothed  in  robes  of  spotless  white, 

And  marching  hand  in  hand. 

They  raise  an  everlasting  song, 

That  angels  do  not  sing  ; 
The  ransomed  that  his  blood  atoned, 

Redeemed  by  heaven's  King. 

Then  how  refined  thy  heart  must  feel, 

When  you  remember  this— 
That  you  have  lead  them  on  with  zeal, 

To  endless  joy  and  bliss. 

You  will  know  these  children  in  that  day, 
Remembering  whence  they  came, 

And  join  with  them  in  joyful  lay, 
Sing  praise  to  Jesus'  name. 


84  CHURCH     HISTORY. 


Each  struggle  here  shall  praise  thee  there, 

And  bring  a  rich  reward  ; 
The  book  recorded  deeds  shall  bear. 

That  you  have  done  for  God. 

Now  at  the  beautiful  golden  gate, 
Are  some  who  waits  for  thee, 

And  to  that  holy,  happy  state, 
Your  soul  shall  shortly  be. 

Methinks  I  hear  them  sweetly  chime, 

Hark  !  what  a  joyful  sound  ! 
In  Eden's  fair,  serener  clime, 

Ten  thousand  joys  are  found. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

CONCLUSION. 

Many  ministers  in  our  race  hold  very  important 
charges,  and  have  held  them  for  years,  who  do  not 
merit  a  mention  in  history  and  whose  labors  have 
not  resulted  in  a  single  good,  apart  from  the  fact 
that  they  entertain  the  people  and  keep  them  to- 
gether until  a  working  minister  comes — until  a  man 
who  is  progressive  comes.  Not  a  man  whose  high- 
est object  is  money  and  appointment.  Very  often 
sinners  are  heard  to  say  that  religion  is  a  humbug, 
and  not  unfrequently  they  denounce  ministers  as 
being  nothing  more  than  money-seekers,  which  im- 
prudents  we  do  not  attempt  to  justify,  yet  ministers, 
to  a  very  great  extent,  are  responsible  for  it.  They 
so  conduct  themselves  and  the  affairs  of  the  church 
that  they  invite  criticism,  and  bring  scandal  and  re- 
proach upon  the  church  and  the   Christian  religion. 


CONCLUSION.  85 


A  minister  must  be  progressive.  To  him,  more 
than  any  other,  the  people  naturally  look,  as  a  lead- 
er. If  he  is  dull  and  inactive  it  is  very  natural 
that  the  church  will  be  slow  and  inaggressive,  and 
if  it  moves  at  all  is  more  than  apt  to  retrograde. 
We  live  now  in  the  midst  of  a  moving  age,  and  we 
cannot  afford  to  stand  still.  We  must  either  build  up 
or  get  out  of  the  way.  Drive  on,  or  get  off  the  track 
and  let  some  one  come  who  will  drive.  "Work 
while  you  work  and  play  while  you  play."  Men  of 
God  must  be  vigilant,  zealous,  watchful  and  active, 
of  which  Rev.  C.  B.  W.  Gordon  is  a  model  and  a 
pattern. 

We  cannot  close  this  book  without  saying  a  few 
words  about  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association. 
This  church  has  among  its  membership  two  Young 
Men's  Christian  Associations.  Both  these  associations 
are  doing  a  good  and  glorious  work.  They  have  some 
of  the  most  soul-ennobling  and  genuine  spirit-seeking 
meetings.  Its  members  seem  to  be  filled  with  the 
Holy  Ghost  when  they  enter  the  hall,  and  it  is  not  long 
thereafter  before  they  warm  the  entire  room.  These 
associations — No.  1,  Scipio  Watkins,  President,  and 
No.  2,  S.  Wilson,  President,  give  liberally  to  all  be- 
nevolent institutions,  to  the  church  most  especially, 
and  form  one  of  the  strongest  agencies  in  christian- 
izing the  world.  These  beacon  lights  of  Christian 
effulgence  shine  up  all  the  dark  places  of  the  city, 
from  centre  to  circumference.  They  sometimes 
convene  in  the  centre  of  the  city  and  sometimes  in 
other  nooks  and  corners,  thus  throwing  the  inspir- 


86  CONCLUSION. 


ing  light  of  the  gospel  into  all  the  dark  places,  and 
lighting  up  their  dreary  pathways  with  that  light 
which  shineth  in  darkness.  Truly  the  prophet  "saw 
a  wheel  within  a  wheel." 


How  wondrous  are  thy  works,  oh  Lord, 
And  how  surpassing  wondrous  they 

Who  set  their  temples  in  thy  word, 
To  do  thy  works  and  show  thy  ways  ? 

What  means  these  sacrifices  here, 
That  thy  own  people  make  and  bear  ? 

Why  are  these  constant,  fervent  prayers, 
These  arduous  labors,  toils  and  cares  ? 

Why  cease  they  not  nor  stop  to  rest, 
But  constantly  engage  with  fears  ? 

They  more  than  interest  manifest 
By  mingling  tears  with  other  tears. 

Brethren,  lift  thy  banner  high, 
And  all  the  hosts  of  hell  defy ; 

Give  every  moment  all  it  claims 
Of  earnest  toils  in  Jesus'  name. 

High  up  beyond  the  scenes  of  earth, 
Where  stand  the  perfect  men  of  God, 

Reward  for  all  your  labor's  worth, 
The  laurels  that  succeed  the  sword. 

Crowns  such  as  monarchs  do  not  ware, 
That  shine  throughout  eternity  ; 

One  that  on  earth  no  crown  can  bear 
A  mark  of  simi-lari-ty. 

Stand  up  for  God,  unsheath  thy  sword, 
And  be  ye  faithful  unto  death, 

Go  down  to  Jordan's  swelling  flood 
With  joy  you'll  enter  peaceful  rest. 

It  is  but  true  that  on  thy  way, 

Your  souls  have  many  a  conflict  met ; 
Often  discouraged,  oft'  dismayed, 

And  sin  and  satan  have  beset. 


CONCLUSION.  87 


Thy  pathway  lies  through  sin  and  scenes, 

Encountering  many  ups  and  downs, 
One  day  an  ever-living  green 

Will  spread  its  lovely  plains  around. 

Clouds  that  once  lowered  o'er  thy  head 
And  threatened  thee  with  sudden  gloom, 

No  more  be  feared,  no  more  they  dread, 
No  more  to  drive  thee  to  thy  home. 

But  fairer  lands  than  any  isles 

That  this  dark  world  of  ours  contains, 
Where  peace  and  plenty  ever  smiles, 

And  peace  and  joy  eternal  reigns. 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  say  just  here  that 
the  sisters  have  organized  a  club  known  as  the 
"Carpet  Sisters."  In  this  way  they  are  carpeting 
their  church.  These  noble  sisters  deserve  honor- 
able mention.  Also,  the  young  men  of  the  church 
have  organized  to  cushion  the  seats,  which  will  cost 
three  or  four  hundred  dollars.  This  church  has  an 
unsurpassed,  energetic  membership.  Both  male 
and  female  members  of  this  church  are  working- 
Christians. 


Just  before  we  close  our  history  we  have  the 
chance  to  give  the  readers  of  this  book  the  advan- 
tage of  the  sermon  preached  by  Rev.  C.  B.  W.  Gor- 
don, which  was  the  closing  sermon  of  the  Virginia 
Baptist  State  Convention,  on  Sunday  night,  May 
17th,  1885,  m  Bute  Street  Baptist  Church,  Norfolk, 
Va.  At  the  hour  appointed  the  house  was  packed 
to  its  uttermost  capacity.  After  singing  and  pray- 
er, a  young  man  about  six  feet  in  height,  slender  in 


CONCLUSION. 


form,  with  large  colossal  head,  and  rather  wasted 
face,  whose  massive  head  of  hair,  jet  black  in  color 
and  curling  in  appearance,  waving  when  parted  in 
a  heavy  bluff  to  the  right,  his  skin  rather  dark 
brown,  with  brilliant  eyes,  adjusting  an  ordinary 
nose,  a  well  proportioned  mouth  rather  smiling  in 
appearance,  small  chin  tapering  to  a  cone  at  the 
bottom,  and  long  neck  centering  two  squarely  set 
shoulders,  displaying  a  combination  of  Indian  and  Af- 
rican features  grand  and  attractive,  rose  up  and 
read  his  text  and  began  to  preach. 

SERMON. 

SUBJECT THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPIRITUAL    LIGHT. 

"I  am  the  Light  of  the  World." — John  8:12. 

Light  is  represented  in  the  scriptures  as  the  im- 
mediate result  and  offspring  of  a  divine  command. 
In  the  first  verse  of  the  Bible  the  act  of  creation  is 
frankly  declared.  "In  the  beginning  God  created  the 
heaven  and  the  earth."  Here  we  learn  that  the 
earth  was  without  form  and  void ;  here  watery 
chaos  had  a  duration  with  an  unbroken  gloom  of 
darkness.  We  have  no  history  of  there  being  fur- 
ther movements  made  by  the  Creator  until  He  called 
forth  light.  When  He  said  "Let  there  be  light,"  at 
once  light  broke  over  the  face  of  chaos  and  the 
floating  vapors  were  penetrated  by  its  splendor  and 
brightness  to  their  surface.  Sound  may  be  defined 
as  any  effect  on  the  sense  of  hearing,  and  in  the 
same  way  light  may  be  defined  as  any  effect  on  the 


CONCLUSION.  89 


sense  of  sight.  Sound  may  be  defined  as  terms  of 
motion  of  air  into  the  cavity  of  the  external  ear, 
mechanically  effecting  the  tympanium.  So  light  may 
be  defined  by  the  mechanical  effect  produced  upon 
the  extension  of  the  optic  nerve,  which  forms  the 
sensitive  service  of  the  retina.  From  350  B.  C.  to 
the  present  age,  the  science  of  light  has  been  studied 
with  intense  interest  by  the  best  minds  of  the  known 
world,  and  it  is  quite  remarkable,  under  the  existing 
circumstances,  to  learn  how  slowly  men  have  ad- 
vanced in  its  most  simple  facts.  By  diligent  search 
and  constant  experience  they  have  only  been  en- 
abled to  say  that  light  moves  in  a  straight  line,  i.  e.  we 
see  an  object  in  the  direction  in  which  it  really  lies. 
Aristotle  asked  the  question,  "Why  can  we  not  see 
in  the  dark  ?"  but  the  interrogation  died  without  an 
answer.  In  the  first  century  of  our  era  Cleomedes 
painted  out  how  a  coin  at  the  bottom  of  an  empty 
cup,  where  the  eye  cannot  see  it,  can  be  made  visible 
by  filling  the  cup  with  water,  and  he  showed  in  a 
similar  manner  how  the  air  may  render  the  sun  vis- 
ible to  us,  while  it  is  still  under  the  horizon.  Short- 
ly after  this  date  Ptolmy,  the  celebrated  astronomer, 
published  his  book  on  optics  and  brought  to  light 
many  new  discoveries,  but  after  all  that  has  been  said, 
done  or  known,  man  only  "sees  through  a  glass 
darkly."  The  creation  of  light  is  the  grandest  fea- 
ture of  the  created  world,  and  without  it  the  act  of 
creation  would  be  incomplete,  The  world  was  in 
gross  darkness  until  God  said  "Let  there  be  light ;" 
then    were    called    forth    out  of  a  state  of  burning 


90  CONCLUSION. 


mixture  plains,  islands  and  continents ;  thus  light 
became  the  first  distinguishing  act  of  creation. 
Whether  this  light  was  universal  we  cannot  tell,  but 
God  soon  created  two  lights  which  he  placed  in  the 
firmament  of  heaven — the  greater  to  rule  the  day 
and  the  lesser  to  rule  the  night.  Whatever  opinion 
may  be  entertained  as  to  the  facility  with  which  these 
two  separate  acts  may  be  reconciled,  it  cannot  be 
questioned  that  the  origin  of  light,  as  of  every 
other  part  of  the  universe,  is  thus  restricted  to  the 
exertion  of  the  divine  will.  The  narative  in  the 
original  is  so  simple,  yet  at  the  same  time  so  mages- 
tic  and  impressive,  both  in  thought  and  in  diction, 
as  to  fill  the  heart  with  lofty  and  pleasureable  senti- 
ment of  awe  and  wonder.  If  this  be  the  beauty 
that  cloaks  around  the  light  of  our  moral  world, 
what  must  be  the  corresponding  mantle  that  robes 
the  son  of  righteousness  ? 

I.  His  Divinity. — The  divinity  of  the  son  of 
righteousness  is  one  of  the  greatest  mysteries  in 
the  world.  The  mystery  may  be  too  great  to  be 
comprehended  by  human  intellect  or  too  deep  to  be 
fathomed  by  human  skill,  but  the  fact  is  not  to  be 
rejected  and  put  aside  on  that  account,  for  the 
world,  by  wisdom,  know  not  God,  and  to  reject  his 
divinity  because  it  is  a  mystery  would  be  the  height 
of  absurdity.  Nicodemus,  although  a  doctor  of 
law,  could  not  understand  the  mystery  of  the  hew 
birth,  nor  have  any  of  his  successors  comprehended 
it,  but  Christ,  by  simple  comparison  convinced  him 
that  it  was  a  fact,  which  he  subsequently   admitted. 


CONCLUSION.  91 


The  scientific  world  is  shocked  every  day  with  prob- 
lems that  they  never  can  solve  or  understand,  yet 
they  admit  them,  and  why  would  you  reject  the  di- 
vinity of  the  Son  of  God  because  of  mystery  ?  He 
is  divine  because  He  is  the  immediate  Son  of  God. 
He  possesses  the  qualification  necessary  to  make 
an  atonement  for  the  world  and  thus  became  a  sub- 
stitute for  those  he  came  to  save.  "He  was  wounded 
for  our  transgressions.  He  was  bruised  for  our  in- 
iquity and  the  chastisement  of  our  peace  is  upon 
Him,  and  with  His  stripes  we  are  healed.  On  Him 
was  laid  the  iniquities  of  us  all.  Christ  has  redeemed 
us  from  the  curse  of  the  law,  being  made  a  curse 
for  us."  Apart  from  His  divinity  He  is  not  the 
Christ,  for  He  would  be  only  human,  consequently 
could  not,  in  the  government  of  God,  atone  for  an- 
other. This  makes  his  divinity  strictly  necessary  to 
assume  the  responsibility  of  a  Saviour,  in  the  restor- 
ation of  man  to  the  favor  of  God.  Therefore  he 
has  the  right  here  to  assert  of  himself  that  he  is  the 
light  of  the  world. 

II.  The  sun  of  our  moral  world  symbolizes  the 
son  of  Righteousness :  First,  by  brightness  or  his 
power  to  illuminate.  The  divine  origin  of  light 
made  the  subject  one  of  special  interest  to  the 
Biblical  nations.  The  sun  was  an  object  worshipped 
and  intensely  honored,  especially  for  his  clearness  of 
brilliancy.  When  God  created  the  sun  he  crowned 
him  with  the  honor  of  being  the  central  body  of  the 
solar  system,  around  which  the  planets  with  their 
sattalites  have  been  moving  with    an    undiminished 


92  CONCLUSION. 


velocity.  The  sun  is  said  to  be  a  huge  heated  mass 
about  1,300,000  times  the  size  of  the  earth,  with  a 
diameter  of  about  860,000  miles.  At  his  absence 
the  world  is  darkened ;  as  he  rises  (so  to  speak) 
sending  forth  his  light  that  moves  through  space 
with  the  rapidity  of  over  185,000  miles  per  second, 
darkness  disappears  and  the  whole  earth  becomes 
illuminated  by  his  glory.  Just  so  with  Jesus  Christ, 
the  son  of  the  ever-living  God.  His  advent  into 
the  world  was  the  bright  and  shining  light  to  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth.  For  the  angel  that  took  the 
shepherds  by  great  surprise  as  they  watched  their 
flocks  by  night,  quickened  a  spirit  of  joy  in  their 
hearts  by  saying  "Behold  I  bring  you  good  tidings 
of  great  joy,  which  shall  be  to  all  people,  for  unto 
you  this  day  is  born  in  the  City  of  David,  a  Saviour 
which  is  Christ  the  Lord."  At  this  great  day  of 
brightness,  brought  forth  in  Christ,  the  spiritural 
light  of  the  world,  the  selfish  views  held  by  the 
Jews  that  they  were  the  only  people  of  God's  choice, 
was  no  longer  to  be  tolerated.  The  poor  that  had 
been  oppressed  for  want  of  acceptable  sacrifice, 
now  finds  a  new  and  living  sacrifice  and  polythe- 
ism falls  to  the  ground.  The  Jewish  high  priest  is 
no  longer  needed  to  make  atonement  for  the  peo- 
ple. The  sceptre  is  now  about  to  depart  from  Ju- 
dah.  The  law-giver  is  moving  from  between  his 
feet,  for  Shiloah  is  come,  and  the  people  which  sat 
in  darkness  see  great  light,  and  to  them  that  sat  in 
the  region  and  shadow  of  death  light  is  springing 
up  ;  and  our  Lord  with  boldness  here  makes  himselt 


conclusion.  93 


known  when  he  says  "I  am  the  light  of  the  world ; 
he  that  followeth  after  me  shall  not  walk  in  dark- 
ness." 

Second,  by  Greatness. — The  sun  is  the  centre  of 
attraction  ;  all  other  lights  of  the  universe  are  de- 
pendant upon  him  for  their  support.  So  is  Christ 
the  centre  of  attraction  in  the  spiritual  sphere. 
The  nations  of  the  earth  own  him  as  Lord,  the  an- 
gels of  heaven  gather  around  his  throne  and  say, 
"Holy  is  the  Lord  God,"  heaven  and  earth  are  full 
of  his  glory.  When  we  look  on  creation  as  the 
work  of  God's  fingers,  we  find  nothing  (with  the  ex- 
ception of  man,  who  is  in  His  image),  that  is  so 
greatly  represented  by  attractive  beauty  as  the  sun. 
Man  honors  him  for  his  light.  He  has  a  tendency 
to  beautify,  strengthen  and  revive.  When  he 
is  veiled  by  clouds,  the  whole  earth  is  chilled,  na- 
ture becomes  deadened.  So  with  Christ ;  he  is  the 
power  that  draws  the  sinner  from  darkness  to  light. 
His  love  enters  the  unregenerate  heart,  purifies 
and  makes  it  meet  for  the  kingdom.  Without 
Christ  the  world  would  be  in  darkness.  The  man 
who  knows  not  Christ  is  dead  in  sin.  -» 

Third,  by  Heat. — The  sun  of  our  moral  world 
has  a  burning  nature.  Were  it  not  for  the  atmos- 
phere and  moisture,  our  world  in  the  torid  zone 
would  be  divested  of  all  living  creatures.  Every  green 
herb  would  soon  be  scorched  to  lifelessness.  So 
Christ  has  appointed  a  day  when  he  will  destroy  his 
enemies  by  fire.  When  he  shall  have  gathered  his 
wheat  he  will  burn  up  the  chaff  with  unquenchable 


94  CONCLUSION. 


fire.  David  said  "that  a  fire  goeth  before  him  and 
burneth  up  his  enemies  around  about." — Psalm 
98:3.  His  lightning  enlighteneth  the  world ;  the 
earth  saw  and  trembled,  the  hills  melted  like  wax 
before  the  presence  of  the  Lord.  There  will  be 
none  to  escape  his  eye. 

III.  This  Light  is  Eternal  and  the  Basis  of 
all  True  Civilization. — "I  am  Alpha  and  Omega — 
the  first  and  the  last" — sayeth  the  Christ.  He  is 
the  light  of  heaven  and  earth,  for  he  is  Lord  of  lords 
and  King  of  kings.  He  lights  the  pathway  of  every 
one  that  comes  after  him,  for  he  says,  "he  that  fol- 
loweth  after  me  shall  not  walk  in  darkness."  There- 
fore, every  one  who  knows  Christ  walks  in  this 
bright  and  shining  light.  Light  is  the  chief  desire  of 
honest  men. 

Those  who  love  darkness  rather  than  light,  their 
deeds  are  evil — darkness  is  an  emblem  of  sor- 
row and  light  an  emblem  of  pleasure.  He  is  the 
true  light  that  lighteth  every  man  that  cometh  into 
the  world,  and  this  heavenly  light  falling  on  the 
souls  of  men  is  a  living  and  life-giving  force  to  hu- 
man development,  and  is  at  variance  with  darkness. 
He  is  the  true  light  because  he  is  from  eternity. 
"In  the  beginning  was  the  word,  and  the  word  was 
with  God  and  the  word  was  God,"  sayeth  the  apos- 
tle. He  was  with  the  church  from  Adam  to  Moses, 
and  from  Moses  down  to  his  noted  advent  into  the 
world,  coming  onward  as  the  rolling  tide  of  truth  and 
brightness.  In  this  he  was  the  light  of  the  world, 
but  it  had  not  been  manifested,  hence  darkness  pre- 


conclusion.  95 


vailed.  The  Mosaic  dispensation,  though  a  decided 
advance  on  any  that  had  gone  before  it,  was  but  a 
shadow  of  what  was  revealed  in  the  cradle  of  Beth- 
lehem, when  Christ  was  born. 

Then  and  there  began  the  administration  of  a 
glorious  reign,  in  which  all  nations  were  to  be 
blessed.  Yes,  his  advent  info  the  world  was  a  new 
light  bursting  upon  a  long  and  dreary  night  of  pain 
and  sorrow.  He  came  to  claim  his  own  and  to  take 
the  kingdom  to  himself.  A  new  light  has  aris*en  and 
new  agencies  and  resources  engaged  to  overthrow 
the  empire  of  satan  and  rear  on  the  ruins  thereof 
the  kingdom  of  our  Emanuel.  The  conquerer  had 
come.  Out  of  his  mouth  went  a  two-edged  sword, 
and  his  countenance  was  as  the  sun  shining  in  his 
strength ;  or,  he  is  portrayed  as  the  bridegroom 
coming  out  of  his  chamber  and  rejoiceth  as  a  strong 
man  to  run  a  race.  So  bright  was  this  light  that 
the  devil  was  greatly  alarmed.  His  empire  on 
earth  had  never  before  been  so  seriously  imperilled. 
God  had  come  in  the  flesh  as  the  light  to  shine 
away  all  darkness,  expressly  to  destroy  the  works 
of  the  devil  and  to  take  the  armor  in  which  he 
trusted,  and  to  bind  and  cast  him  out  to  dwell  in 
utter  darkness  forever.  Hear  the  apostle  crying : 
"the  light  shineth  in  darkness  and  the  darkness 
comprehendeth  it  not.  The  coming  of  Christ  meant 
war  with  the  prince  of  darkness ;  therefore  a  des- 
perate, a  terrible  resistance  was  at  once  offered, 
but  the  light  was  the  conqueror.  The  devil  being 
unable  to  stop  the  Saviour's  advent  into  the  world, 


9  6  CONCLUSION. 


tried  to  resist  his  progress  and  baffle  his  purposes  ; 
hence  he  tried  with  his  sword  of  vengeance  to 
slay  him  in  the  cradle  and  cut  him  off  in  early  in- 
fancy, by  using  Herod  as  his  agent,  in  giving  utter- 
ance to  the  proclamation  that  all  infants  should  be 
murdered,  hoping  thereby  to  kill  Jesus.  But  the 
action  only  tended  to  diffuse  the  light  in  Egypt. 
Failing  here  to  accomplish  his  design,  he  met  the 
Lamb  in  the  wilderness,  but  Christ,  as  the  light,  was 
too  great  to  be  extinguished ;  hence  he  continues 
to  shine  as  perfect  day  and  here  makes  the  public 
confession,  "I  am  the  Light  of  the  World."  Christ 
is  the  light  of  all  lights  ;  He  is  the  source  of  all 
true  knowledge ;  He  is  the  chief  attractive  power 
by  which  man  is  drawn  to  God ;  He  is  the  mediator 
between  the  seen  and  the  unseen,  whereby  the  spir- 
itual world  is  made  real  to  mankind.  Without  Him 
the  world  would  be  in  utter  darkness.  He  is  "the 
desire  of  all  nations,"  the  secret  of  man,  the  tem- 
ple's honor,  the  world's  Saviour  and  heaven's  glory. 
He  is  honored  by  the  Greek  father,  Clement  of 
Alexander,  as  being  not  only  the  basis  of  Christian- 
ity, but  Greek  philosophy  as  well,  for  he  says,  "phil- 
osophy, like  a  school-master,  has  guided  the  Greeks 
also  as  the  law  did  Israel  to  Christ.  The  greatest 
scholar  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  America,  the 
late  Prof.  B.  Smith,  has  said  of  heathenism :  "There 
glimmered  through  all  its  idolatries  and  sacrifices  a 
strange,  unearthly  light,  wandering  in  the  fitful 
search  for  an  incarnate  Saviour.  "He  was  in 
the    world,"    says    the    apostle,  "and  the  world  was 


conclusion.  97 


made  by  him,  and  without  him  there  was  nothing 
made  that  was  made."  He  did  not  come  into  the 
world  as  one  who  had  just  been  thrown  into  exis- 
tence, or  as  a  stranger  to  inquire  his  way  through 
life  ;  divinely  he  was  already  here.  His  advent  was 
of  special  manifestation  as  when  a  hidden  fire  burst 
forth,  with  a  shining  blaze.  He  was  in  the  bosom 
of  the  Father  from  all  eternity.  Palestine  was  no 
strange  country  to  him,  for  it  was  as  a  mansion 
built  by  his  own  hands.  The  hand  that  was  nailed 
to  the  cross  was  the  same  that  reared  the  moun- 
tains which  lift  their  heads  sublime.  The  hand 
through  which  the  nails  were  driven  was  the  hand 
that  held  from  fallen  man  the  sword  of  justice. 
It  was  no  less  strong  than  when  it  hung  the  moon 
and  stars  and  gave  movement  to  the  world.  The 
voice  that  talked  with  Pilot  at  the  bar,  was  the  same 
voice  that  called  to  Paul  while  on  his  way  to  Da- 
mascus. Paul  says  of  him  that  "he  was  the  Spirit- 
ual Rock  that  followed  the  Israelites.  Moses  said 
"thou,  Jehovah,  art  seen  face  to  face,"  the  only  be- 
gotten son  who  was  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father.  He 
has  declared  him  both  on  Mount  Horeb  and  on  the 
mount  of  transfiguation.  Christ  is  the  original  light 
that  lighteth  every  one  that  cometh  into  the  world. 
Second,  All  inventions  of  the  known  world  are  only 
reflective  sparks  of  this  great  light. — He  who  stood 
and  spoke  as  one  having  authority,  saying,  "I  am 
the  light  of  the  world"  is  the  source  of  all  true  civ- 
ilization. Exhibit  anything  that  is  true  in  science, 
whether  it  rolls  from  the  astronomer  or  the  labora- 


98  CONCLUSION. 


tory  of  the  skeptical  chemist;  discover  anything  that 
is  lovely  in  character,  whether  it  appears  in  the  jungles 
of  India  or  on  the  streets  of  Norfolk,  or  within  the 
thoughtful  seclusions  of  Berkley  village,  and  Jesus 
Christ  lays  his  holy  hand  upon  it  and  says,  ''It  is 
mine." 

Christ  is  all  and  in  all,  and  over  all,  and  the  foun- 
tain head  of  all  true  civilization.  This  light  blazing 
forth  from  the  redeeming  glory  of  the  cross,  falling 
on  the  souls  of  men,  is  the  only  force  of  human  de- 
velopment. Thus  Christianity  has  been  the  leading 
power  in  the  great  progress  of  humanity  from  the 
creation  of  the  world  to  the  present  time,  and  will 
be  as  long  as  a  man's  boundless  intellect  continues 
to  spread  and  widen  in  the  highest  scales  of  improve- 
ment. For  when  the  day  comes  that  the  faith  which 
was  first  delivered  to  the  saints  is  taken  or  darkened 
by  disbelief,  this  world  can  no  longer  be  a  garden  of 
pleasure  and  joy,  but  one  of  pain  and  gross  darkness. 
This  instruction  is  quite  contrary  to  much  of  the 
popular  theories  of  the  day.  Empty  declaimers  and 
grave  philosophers  inform  us  that  religious  convictions 
are  nightmares  of  the  past  obstacles,  and  not  in- 
citements to  human  progress.  Wicked  voices  are 
proclaiming  that  the  day  will  soon  come  when  the 
churches  will  be  turned  into  school-houses  and  the 
Bible  superseded  by  hand-books  of  science.  The 
infidel  lives  in  hopes  of  spreading  his  theories  uni- 
versally broadcast  in  the  world  with  its  noxious  seed. 
"The  Bible  is  no  revelation  of  divine  origin."  The 
deist,  with  a  trembling  and  wishful  heart,   looks  for- 


conclusion.  99 


ward  to  the  day  when  the  word  Christianity,  or 
Christian  religion,  shall  be  blotted  from  the  pages 
of  history  and  erased  from  every  mind.  The  Athe- 
ist prays  that  his  wished  for  day  will  come  when  it 
shall  be  proclaimed  on  every  housetop,  on  every 
hillside  and  in  every  valley,  his  Atheistical  doctrine : 
"there  is  no  God."  All  of  these  are  only  powers 
of  darkness,  howling  to  overthrow  the  kingdom  of 
our  God.  "Father,  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not 
what  they  do !" 

"I  am  the  light  of  the  world,"  says  Christ,  and 
it  is  declared  that  he  shall  reign  until  he  hath  put  all 
his  enemies  under  his  feet;  i.  e.,  this  light  shall  shine 
until  the  darkness  of  every  valley  be  dispersed  and 
the  kingdom  of  our  Lord  be  built  upon  the  ruins 
thereof.  This  is  the  light  that  John  spoke  of  when 
he  came  forth  from  the  wilderness  of  Judea,  when 
he  said,  "to  them  that  sat  in  darkness,  light  is  sprung 
up."  This  is  the  basis  of  all  civilization  that  has 
ever  given  impulse  to  a  higher  standard  of  morality. 
The  holy  book  of  the  Hindoos  proceded  all  East 
Indian  culture,  and  the  oldest  monuments  of  Egypt, 
were  built  on  the  faith  that  man  did  not  spring  from 
dust  alone.  The  poetry  of  Homer,  whose  blind 
eyes  were  ever  turned  toward  Olympus,  was  the 
source  of  Hellenic  culture  and  the  cradle  of  Hellenic 
civilization.  Whence  came  modern  civilization  ?  It 
knows  no  mother  save  Christianity.  The  European 
world  is  an  edifice  built  by  the  hand  of  Christianity 
out  of  the  fragments  of  the  Roman  empire.  The 
deluge  of  Barbarism  would  have  swept  away  the  last 


lOO  CONCLUSION. 


seed  of  refinement,  and,  I  may  say,  humanity,  but  for 
Christianity,  which  held  up  the  light  of  the  world. 
I  contribute  the  act  of  Emancipation  to  the  wielding 
power  that  went  forth  from  this  light.  Twenty-five 
years  ago  the  thirteen  Southern  States  declared  an 
eternal  separation  from  the  Union,  because  their 
deeds  were  evil  and  their  statute  books  deeply 
stained  with  the  blood  of  the  Negro.  This  blazing 
light  began  to  send  forth  its  translucent  rays 
through  every  nook  and  corner  of  this  dark  conti- 
nent, rising  first  in  the  hearts  of  the  Northern 
church,  then  on  its  way  to  congress,  where  she 
bearded  the  lion  in  his  den.  The  hallowed  light 
mounted  higher  and  higher  and  waxed  warmer  and 
warmer  still,  until  the  accumulating  heat  swelled 
into  one  formidable  cloud,  the  thunder  of  whose 
voice  shook  the  civilized  world,  bursting  when  she 
broke  the  slavery  chains  of  four  millions  of  human 
souls,  and  turned  this  hell  of  slavery  into  a  shining 
field  of  freedom  and  Christianity.  This  light  will 
continue  to  shine  until  it  drives  to  the  end  of  the 
world  all  darkness,  of  whatever  nature  or  name. 
She  will  light  up  the  benighted  shores  of  heathen- 
dom. 

We,  dear  Christians,  are  reflectors  of  this  light. 
We  are  lights  receiving  our  support  from  Christ, 
the  great  central  light,  as  the  moon  is  a  reflective 
light  of  the  sun,  and  we  are  commanded  to  'let  our 
light  so  shine  that  the  world  may  see  our  good 
works  and  be  constrained  to  glorify  God.' 

Finally,  Christ  is  a  light  for  Christians  in  the  hour 


CONCLUSION.  IOI 


of  death. — Yes,  at  the  dark  brink  of  Jordan  this 
blessed  light  shineth  from  above  with  an  everlasting 
radiance  that  guides  the  pilgrim  safely  over ;  "though 
he  walks  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death, 
he  fears  no  evil."  It  drives  back  the  dark  forbod- 
ings  by  the  brightness  of  its  coming.  It  opens  up 
to  the  view  of  Zion's  traveler  the  dazzling  throne  of 
our  God,  so  rich,  so  grand,  so  felicitous  and  soul- 
ennobling.  So  indescribably  beautiful  that  the  soul 
exclaims  with  one  of  old,  "oh !  death,  where  is  thy 
sting,  oh  !  grave,  where  is  thy  victory  ?  Led  on  by 
this  light  the  soul  goes  mounting  triumphantly  up  the 
everlasting  streets  of  paradise,  singing  and  shouting 
praises  unto  the  Father,  and  the  Son,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost,  saying  holy,  holy,  Lord  God  of  Sabbath,  the 
heavens  and  the  earth  are  full  of  thy  glory.    Amen. 

And  when  we  have  been  there  ten  thousand  years, 

Bright,  shining  as  the  sun, 
We  have  no  less  bright  illustrious  days, 

Than  when  we  first  begun. 

This  sermon  was  delivered  in  a  magnificent  strain, 
creating  quite  an  intense  interest.  The  attention 
paid  him  during  the  discourse  was  marked  and 
commendable.  At  some  portions  of  the  time  one 
might  have  been  able  to  hear  the  falling  of  a  pin 
upon  the  floor.  It  was  only  at  intervals  that  those 
who  could  not  quench  their  emotions,  would  break 
the  awful  silence  with  amens,  &c.  They  seemed 
moved  and  pierced  to  the  heart,  and  sometimes  ap- 
peared to  be  almost  drawn  from  their  seats.  They 
were  so  carried  off  in  the  words  of  this  sermon  that 


102  CONCLUSION. 


they  really  seemed  to  move  and  bend  with  his  jes- 
ture.  While  the  preachers'  countenance  was  lit 
up  with  a  heavenly  glory,  yet  calm  and  self  pos- 
sessed, he  went  from  paragraph  to  paragraph,  and 
moulded  sentence  after  sentence  without  hesitancy. 
This  sermon  was  truly  the  top  stone  and  crowning 
effort  of  the  State  Convention. 


#^-f^§    FINIS-  •§$!*•£#• 


ERRATA. 

Page    ?,  line  19,  read  "Ethridge"  instead  of  "Eldridge." 

Page  42,  line  15,  read  "upper"  instead  of  ''uper." 

Page  14,  line  21,  read  "was  surrounded"  instead  of  "is  surrounded." 

Page  15,  line  12,  read  "Charles  Holly"  instead  of  "Charles." 

Page  59,  line  6,  read  "E.  M.  Leigh"  instead  of  "J.  M.  Leigh." 


TO     THE     PUBLIC. 

W.  H.  MAJOR  &  CO.,  whose  headquarters  are  at  the  First  Baptist 
Church,  Harrison  Street,  have  been  appointed  General  Agents  for  the  sale  of 
this  Book,  and  all  arrangements  for  the  purchase  of  the  same  must  be  made 
with  them.  Rev.  C.  B.  W.  GORDON. 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


THE  COLLECTION  OF 
NORTH  CAROLINIANA 


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